Star of the Normandy - The Collector Threat
by Kr1tikal-Krysis
Summary: Two years after her victory over Saren and Sovereign and being killed by a new enemy, Commander Shepard is brought back to life by Cerberus and enlisted to stop the Collectors from destroying humanity. Along her way, she gains a mysterious new ally... This is a DLC-style OC insert into the ME2 storyline. First fanfiction, please R&R!
1. Chapter 1

Star of the Normandy - The Collector Threat

 _ **A/N: This is an OC insert into the Mass Effect 2 storyline (based on my playthrough, I didn't have any of the DLCs). It follows the canon; any changes/additional storylines will be in an AU version of the story. Also contains a few off-camera scenes between the OC and other squadmates. They're there for character development.**_

 _ **Disclaimer:**_ All characters except the OC owned by Bioware.

Warning: Here be spoilers! A lot of them. This covers two-thirds of the game. In-game dialogue used for added authenticity. Rated M for language and later chapters.

[Generic F!Shep, Colonist, Ruthless, Soldier, Renegon]

* * *

Chapter One - Dossier: The Mercenary

"There is nothing more absolute than the oath of an asari justicar. You did well getting Samara on our side." Yeoman Kelly Chambers remarked. "She is so elegant and gorgeous. Too bad her manner is so… cold."

Shepard nodded internally. She had just been to talk with the newly-recruited Justicar, and though polite, she could sense the harshness in the asari's voice. She obviously wasn't much of a people person.

"That'll be all."

"I'll be here if you need anything." Kelly said, turning back to her console. Shepard walked over to the Galaxy Map and opened her Omni-tool to her journal. She was half-way through the four new dossiers the Illusive Man had sent after the mission to Horizon, the two she had left being recruiting Tali on Haestrom and the mercenary on Omega. She scanned through the mission details, then decided.

"Joker!" she called through her comm link, "Set a course for Omega!"

* * *

Once they arrived at their destination, Shepard and her squadmates, Garrus and Jack, made their way out of the docking area.

"Shepard," EDI's voice chimed in over the comms, "Recent reports mention a freelance mercenary has been quite active against the other mercenary groups on Omega, specifically the Blue Suns. Aria T'Loak may have more information."

"A lone freelancer taking on the Blue Suns? Must be one tough customer." Garrus quipped behind Shepard. The group stepped into the streets of Omega and made their way to Afterlife, Omega's largest club, run by the queen herself, Aria. The music was loud and the air smelled of sweat and booze. Shepard ignored the asari pole dancers and made her way up to Aria's lounge. The asari motioned her to sit.

"What do you need?"

"I'm looking for a freelance merc. Heard she's been causing quite some trouble around with the Blue Suns."

Aria turned her head in thought. "Ah yes, her. Apparently, she's been targeting the Blue Suns specifically. Who knows what her reason is. She's been doing some work for me on the side as well."

Shepard raised an eyebrow. "I thought you had your own people."

"I do, but someone with a reputation like hers isn't a bad idea to keep around. Besides," the asari shifted her legs "she came to me first."

"Can you tell me where to find her?"

"She'll be coming to Afterlife soon to take care of some loose ends for me. Hang around the lower section, you can't miss her." She said as the commander stood up. "She tends to stand out in a crowd."

"Thanks for the help."

"Good luck."

Shepard moved down to the back of the club and headed to lower Afterlife, followed by her squad. Soon, they were seated at a table, with a good view of the exits. They'd been waiting for ten minutes now, and no one particularly interesting had showed up yet. Jack had ordered a drink and Shepard had begun to notice (and subsequently found amusing) that her turian squadmate was having a hard time keeping his eyes off the asari dancers.

"This is useless." Jack finally piped up, disgruntled. "That merc isn't gonna show."

"I'm sure she'll be here any second now." Garrus replied. The tattooed biotic rolled her eyes. Just then, Shepard noticed someone walk into the club. A tall, somewhat skinny girl, with long black hair hanging loosely in a low ponytail, a gun on her waist and a serious look on her face. She clearly wasn't here for a drink. Shepard turned her squadmates' attentions to her.

"Think that's our mark?" Garrus whispered.

"Only one way to find out." Before Shepard could get up, the girl began talking to a turian bouncer near one of the private rooms. He nodded to her and motioned her to go inside. Shepard walked over to the bouncer just in time to hear a single muffled gunshot go off inside the room. The girl walked out, her pistol in hand and barrel still wafting smoke, and nearly bumped into the commander.

"Watch it." she barked, somewhat annoyed.

"I was hoping I could talk to you."

"You one of Aria's people?" She shifted her weight, putting a hand on her hips.

"Aria told me where to find you."

"Only people who ask for me either want me for a job or dead." Her expression grew more serious. "Which are you?"

Shepard folded her arms and gestured to Afterlife's back door. "Let's talk and you'll find out." The girl stared at her for a second, then followed Shepard outside the club. Once outside, she continued. "I'm Commander Shepard. I'm on a mission to save humanity, and I came here to recruit you."

The girl crossed her arms. "So many trained professionals and soldiers in the galaxy, and you want some scrub from Omega? What about the Alliance?"

"The Alliance can't help me without council permission, and they're out of the question. I'm looking for the best, and if what I've heard about you is true, you fall under that category."

"I see. And what exactly is this 'critical mission' anyway?" she said, air-quoting.

"Saving the human race from the Collectors."

"Collectors? Those creepy bug-looking things? I've seen a few of them before, about two years ago. They were conducting a transaction with some of the Shadow Broker's agents. Don't they live beyond the Omega-4 relay?"

Shepard nodded. "No ship's ever made it through there in one piece." She added. "Basically a suicide mission." The look of intrigue on the freelancer's face did not escape the marine.

"Interesting. Well if I'm gonna die, might as well be fighting for my species." She said flatly. Shepard couldn't tell if she was being serious about her decision. "I'll fight for you, Commander. My name's Star, by the way."

Shepard nodded. "Good, I'll contact the Normandy and-"

"Wait just a second there." the commander turned back to the merc. "There's some unfinished business here I need to deal with."

"Which is?"

"I need some things to get from my apartment, but the local Blue Suns set up an ambush for me. They won't be expecting a group of trained soldiers, though." She said thoughtfully. "If you could clear out those guys for me, it'd be much appreciated." Shepard almost rolled her eyes. ' _Of course she needed something in return first.'_

"I'll take care of it."

"Thanks. My apartment is in the Gozu District." She sent Shepard her apartment's coordinates via Omni-tool.

The squad left Afterlife and headed towards the apartment districts. Good thing the quarantine had been lifted since Shepard last went through. They made their way to the Gozu district and spotted the mercs Star had mentioned; a seemingly small group of Blue Suns standing out in the open, trying not to look suspicious.

"That's the ambush? I thought there'd be more." Garrus commented quietly, walking up beside Shepard. The commander walked up to them, and one pointed their gun at her.

"Hey, I'm not here for trouble." She said, holding her hands up defensively. The squad captain signaled to his lackey to drop the gun and stepped forward.

"Those guns are making that hard to believe. Who're you?"

"I'm one of Aria's people. She sent me to tell you guys to clear out, the quarantine's lifted."

"Is that so? Well, Aria will just have to wait. I've got direct orders from my superiors to clean up some trash hiding out around here. We'll leave when we're done."

Shepard glared at the merc. "Is that so? Well, I'm under direct orders from Aria to clean up the trash crowding her district. By any means necessary."

The merc captain subconsciously took a step back, then gestured to his lackeys. "Don't just stand there! Open-" He was interrupted by one of the mercs' heads exploding from Shepard's pistol.

"Looks like we're doing this the hard way."

Both parties opened fired on each other as they ducked into cover. Shepard picked off the mercs crawling out of the woodworks with her Widow Sniper rifle as Jack tossed an advancing turian with a Pull field. They'd just cleared out most of the mercs that were there when they heard the captain call for reinforcements.

"Snipers on the upper levels!" Garrus warned, putting a bullet into one of their heads with his own Mantis.

"Damn, all this for one girl?" Jack commented, sending a Shockwave at the incoming LOKI mechs. "Shit, she must've really pissed them off."

"It does seem like overkill, Shepard." Garrus added, taking cover beside her. "Did they really expect that much resistance from one person?"

"You heard Aria." The commander replied, shooting down a batarian Legionnaire. "Star's been targeting Blue Suns. I doubt they'd be happy about her killing their guys."

They finished off the reinforcements quickly, and as soon as the gunfire died down, Star appeared, stepping over the dead bodies.

"Wow, they sent a lot more mercs than I expected." She commented nonchalantly. "Thanks, Commander. I owe you one."

Shepard walked up to the merc. "Something you're not telling me?"

"Excuse me?"

"Why did the Suns send so many people after you?"

Star shrugged. "I don't rightly know. Maybe it's because I've been a thorn in their side for a while now. Maybe it's because I killed one of their important lieutenants and disrupted their operations since the quarantine was lifted recently."

"By yourself?"

"Of course."

Shepard traded knowing glances with Garrus and turned back to Star, holding her hand out. "Welcome aboard the Normandy, Star."

The mercenary girl grinned and shook the marine's hand firmly.

* * *

Shepard met up with Star in the Briefing room, along with Jacob and Miranda. "Fancy ship you've got here, Commander." She remarked as the commander walked in. "You didn't tell me you worked for Cerberus. No wonder the council wouldn't help you."

"I don't work for Cerberus." Shepard stated, crossing her arms.

"Do you have a problem with Cerberus?" Miranda asked from across the table, shooting Star a cold glare. The merc shrugged.

"Not particularly. Never crossed paths before. I just heard it was some sort of terrorist group."

"Cerberus aims to protect humanity, by all means. The preservation and uplifting of the human race is our main priority." Miranda said sternly, leaning on the table.

"'By all means', inclusive of terrorism; my definition wasn't wrong." The merc replied nonchalantly.

Shepard didn't think Miranda's expression could get any colder.

"Your skills are pretty impressive for a freelancer, according to your files. I hope you'll be a valuable asset to our team. We need all the help we can get." Jacob said quickly, cutting off Miranda before she could retort.

"That's what I'm here for." Star maintained the indifferent look on her face. "Where do I sleep?"

"A place has been prepared for you down in Engineering with Jack. Jacob will show you the way." Miranda replied in her usual cold demeanor. Jacob led Star out of the Briefing room, leaving his superiors with each other. Shepard watched them leave then turned to her XO approaching her.

"I don't trust her, Shepard. The information I've gathered from Omega makes her out to be nothing more than a reckless, trigger-happy professional criminal. She's not suitable for this kind of mission."

"I'll decide whether or not she's suitable, Miranda. You just do your job." Shepard said almost harshly, and walked out of the Briefing room. She headed up to the bridge and walked up to the Normandy's pilot, Joker, who turned his chair to acknowledge his commanding officer.

"That kid you picked up seems like the sweet, innocent type and the crazy, killing type at the same time. I'm not sure if I should avoid her or pet her and give her a treat."

Shepard barely contained her chuckle. "That's it for now."

"See you, Commander." Came the reply as the helmsman went back to work. Shepard approached Kelly next to hear her opinion of the new recruit.

"Star seems very indifferent to her situation, as if facing suicidal odds is a normal thing for her. I must admit, I'm a bit worried."

"You don't think she's fit for duty?"

Kelly shook her head. "Oh no, she's fit and ready for battle, it's just her emotional state I'm concerned about. Anyway, how can I help you, Commander?"

"That'll be all."

"Always nice chatting with you." The Yeoman turned back to her work. Shepard walked into the elevator and headed up to her quarters.

* * *

Star descended downstairs into the depths of the Engineering sub-deck where the Cerberus officer had shown her. She noticed the woman who had been with Shepard earlier, Jack, sitting on her cot with datapads strewn about at her feet. Her head was shaven clean and she was covered in tattoos, and was naked from the waist up, save for a leather strap that all but modestly covered her breasts. She looked up as Star walked closer.

"Hey."

"Hey." Star replied. "Jack, right?" The biotic nodded.

"The cheerleader said something about me getting a roommate." Jack motioned to the (newly-added) cot beside hers. Star put her bag under it and sat down.

"You okay with the company? You seem to like being alone."

"As long as you don't piss me off, we'll be just fine." The convict stretched out on her cot and brought up her Omni-tool as Star surveyed her new living space. She could see why Jack liked it down here. Dark, quiet, safe. She could hear heavy footsteps coming down the stairs and noticed Shepard turn the corner, heading right for her.

"Need something, Shepard?"

"Have a few minutes to talk?"

Star nodded, stood up and walked to the stairs, sitting on one of the steps. "What did you want to talk about?"

Shepard stood in front of her, dropping her voice low. "I want to talk about you. You said you've been giving the Blue Suns a hard time. What's the story behind that?"

"Oh right, those guys. Ever since I got to Omega, Blue Suns have been in my way. At first it was extortion rackets, or threats. Then, once I started to get into the merc business, they started hiring me for a few jobs. Nothing too hard, 'find and retrieve' missions mostly. Eventually, one of the top lieutenants offered me a gun and a uniform. I turned him down and he threatened me, said the Suns would make my life a living hell if I wasn't with them." She chuckled. "Joke's on them, it's the other way around now."

"Why didn't you join them?"

Star shrugged. "It wasn't worth it. I wasn't planning on leaving Omega anytime soon. I had - let's call it a purpose. One to live for. One worth dying for."

Shepard raised an eyebrow, but the younger woman simply shrugged again, refusing to elaborate. The commander changed the subject. "You mentioned something about Collectors and the Shadow Broker earlier?"

"The first and only time I ever saw Collectors. That was two years ago." Star leaned forward, resting her chin on her hands. "I was on my way to Afterlife, saw a couple of strangers in a fight with some Blue Suns. A drell and an asari. They looked interesting, so I tailed them for a bit. Followed them to the lower levels, the cargo bays. One of the Shadow Broker's top agents was there, and some Collectors making a trade. I was too far away to see what was going on. All I knew was, that salarian had a grenade launcher, and I was getting out of there before he found a reason to use it." The merc chuckled at the memory. "Good thing, too; that particular cargo bay is still under repair."

 _'A drell and an asari…?'_ The commander replayed Star's words in her head. Liara had mentioned being involved with the Shadow Broker while trying to reclaim her corpse two years ago. _'Maybe the asari Star saw could have been her?'_

Shepard shook her head. She'd have to ask Liara next time they docked on Illium. "So tell me, why exactly are you going after the Blue Suns?"

The mercenary's brows furrowed. "They took something very important from me. I'm just dealing out payback."

"What did they take?" Shepard gave her a quizzical look.

Star stood up and stretched. "Ah, Commander. That's a story for another day. I've taken up too much of your time already." She nodded to the marine, then walked back over to her cot and lay down. Shepard sighed and went back to the elevator.

* * *

***** "Dialogue", _"Memories/Recollections", 'Thoughts' *****_


	2. Chapter 2

_**A/N: Thank you so much for the reviews, favs and follows! I'm glad you're all enjoying it so far.**_

* * *

Chapter Two – Dossier: Tali

Shepard, Star and the tank-bred krogan crewmate, Grunt, were in the Normandy's shuttle, on their way to a landing zone on Haestrom, a planet deep in geth space. According to the briefing, there was a group of quarians in the ruins there, and Shepard was going to recruit one of them, Tali'Zorah, whom she was previously acquainted with. Star felt the Kodiak come to a slow stop as it landed, and the door lifted open. The squad filed out of the vehicle, and EDI's voice came in on their comms as the shuttle took off.

"Shepard, our data indicates that Tali is somewhere in these ruins. There is considerable geth activity, and an environmental hazard. Solar output has overwhelmed Haestrom's protective magnetosphere. Exposure to direct sunlight will damage your shields."

The commander led point and moved out as her squadmates followed. Just as EDI had said, the moment the sunlight hit them, their shields started to fry.

"Sun's roasting my shields!" Star said, following Shepard quickly into the shade.

"Then we fight from the shade. But no hiding!" Grunt responded. Shepard looked back at the krogan. The sun seemed to have no effect on him.

 _'Probably because of his natural armor'_ she thought. _'Lucky.'_

The team came to a security gate and entered the outpost nearby. There was a quarian log playing on repeat, accompanied by dead quarians. Shepard opened the gate and they moved out to the open field. Star was the first to notice it.

"Dropship, incoming!"

Everyone ran to cover as geth troopers from the dropship started firing at them. Star hit one with a Warp field and Shepard took it out with her assault rifle. She switched to her Disruptor Ammo and took out the geth's shields, and her squadmates finished them off.

"We should find a different path before the sun roasts us alive." The merc suggested. Shepard nodded, then turned to the door on the opposite end on the field. The marine took cover behind a tall column and pulled out her Widow. Star noticed what she was doing and followed suit with her Viper; picking off the advancing geth before they got close enough to start shooting. They took out a few with clean headshots, and the remaining enemies were no match for Grunt's Concussive Shots and Star's Incendiary Ammo. They pushed forward, picking up spare thermal clips along the way. After mowing down more geth, the squad came across a quarian radio that was still broadcasting.

"OP 1, this is Squad Leader Kal'Reegar, come in, over!" the voice said. Shepard picked up the radio.

"This is Commander Shepard of the Normandy. I passed a lot of dead quarians on the way in. You're the first survivors I've found."

"Damn. Wait, Shepard? The Spectre Tali worked with? Don't know why you're here, but right now, any organic is a welcome sight. Patch your radio into channel 617 Theta." Shepard connected her Omni-tool's radio to the channel, and the others did the same. "We were on a stealth mission. High risk. We found what we were after, but the geth found us. They've got us pinned down. Can't get to our ship, can't transmit data through the solar radiation."

"How are you holding up? We can be there in a few minutes."

"Take it slow and careful." The quarian responded. "Direct sunlight fries your shields all to hell. We're bunkered down at base camp across the valley. We left Tali'Zorah at a secure shelter, then doubled back to hold the chokepoint." Shepard looked across the field and noticed some quarians holding off geth troopers. "Getting Tali out safely is our top priority. If you can extract her, we'll keep them off you."

"You've got confirmation that the geth haven't reached Tali yet?"

"Affirmative. Left my best men with her. When you get here, you can talk to her on the comm." The quarian commander continued. "Every marine on this rock is sworn to protect Tali'Zorah. Long as one of us is still drawing air, she'll be safe."

"Hold position. We'll hit their back ranks."

"Wait! Watch your ass! We've got a dropship coming in!"

Sure enough, the geth dropship flew over the field, slowing only to blast missiles at the quarians guarding the outpost. The commander signaled the team to move out but before they could reach the door, a huge pillar toppled over, blocking the path.

"Crap. Doorway's blocked! Grab the demo charges in the buildings nearby! Use them to clear a path! They're coming in through the side! I've got to fall back!" Kal'Reegar said before his radio disconnected. The squad moved into cover once more as more geth started pouring out of the nearby buildings.

"Shepard, I have scanned the area and located the demolition charges the quarian commander mentioned." EDI's voice came in over the comms again.

"Put it on my radar." Shepard responded, blasting a geth with her assault rifle.

"Done. You will need both sets of charges to clear the rubble." The AI added before logging off. Star moved back as she fired her shotgun at a cloaked geth hunter moving up towards Shepard, who noticed it and fired at it as well. The team advanced towards the building, taking down geth after geth, Grunt charging into two unlucky troopers trying to flank him. They soon cleared the building, and after listening to a holo-journal entry Tali had left in there, the commander picked up the first demo charge and headed back outside, and was promptly met with gunfire. More geth. Big geth; a goddamn Geth Prime. Shepard brought down its shields with her Disruptor Ammo and Star warped its armor, then she and Grunt took care of the troopers as Shepard finished it off. With the first wave down, Shepard and Star referred to their earlier tactic of sniping geth before they got close enough to shoot at them, then pressed forward, shotguns and rifles blazing. They turned the remaining geth into scrap metal and headed into the next building to pick up the last explosive. As soon as they headed out, they were met with heavy fire. More geth. With missile launchers.

"We're under too much fire! We can flank them if we move left!" Star yelled as she ducked a missile behind some crates. Shepard sniped at the heavy weapon-wielding geth as Star and Grunt went all-out on the mass of troopers headed towards them. A pair of Geth Destroyers were in the mix too, but they were no match for Shepard's Widow. The field finally clear of geth, the team moved up to the pillar and Shepard planted the charges.

"Send it to the sky!" the krogan said enthusiastically.

"We might want to move." Star added, backing away from the pillar. The others did the same, and in 10 seconds, the pillar went boom! They proceeded into the outpost and while Shepard scanned the geth rifle on the nearby table, Star marveled at the ancient architecture. "Never thought I'd see quarian architecture in my lifetime." She mused. The communications console near the door lit up and a female quarian's voice could be heard.

"Tali'Zorah to base camp. Come in, base camp."

Shepard answered it.

"Hello? Is anyone there?" the quarian asked.

"Tali, its Shepard. I'm sorry. Everyone here is dead. Any survivors must have fallen back." She replied as Grunt checked the bodies. Yep. Very dead quarians.

"We knew this mission was high-risk. Damn it." Tali shook her head. "And what are you doing here, Shepard? We're in the middle of geth space!"

"I've got a mission, remember? It's dangerous, but you don't seem averse to high risk missions these days."

"I'll discuss the mission as soon as the gunfire dies down. Kal'Reegar and what's left of the marines got me into the observatory. From where you are, it's through the door and across the field. I got the data I needed, and I'm safe for now, but I've got a lot of geth outside."

"It looks like somebody sealed the door against the geth, and the console is damaged. Can you get it open on your end?"

"Let me see… yes, I can do it. Here. Should be unlocked now." The quarian said, working her console from the other end. "Be careful, Shepard. And please, do what you can to keep Reegar alive." Tali added before logging out. The squad pressed on out into the field and met with a face full of drones.

"Machine cowards! The drones can hide!" Grunt barked, firing a pot shot at one before it could cloak. They moved ahead, shooting down the recon drones and the occasional geth that decided it felt lucky. They reached the security console and Shepard lifted the lockdown. Before they could advance, the three caught sight of something huge across the field.

"Colossus!" Star announced, somewhat shocked.

"Get down!" the commander ordered as said colossus fired a blast at them that caused the building to shake. Grunt was the only one who seemed excited.

"This is why I follow you, Shepard! Big things!"

Star rolled her eyes. _'Krogan'_. They filed out of the building before the colossal monstrosity could fire at them again, and saw a red-suited quarian with a rocket launcher beckoning to them.

"Over here! Get to cover!" he yelled, launching a rocket. The squad ducked into cover just as another blast from the colossus hit nearby.

"Squad Leader Kal'Reegar, Migrant Fleet Marines. We talked on the radio before the dropship arrived. Still got no idea why you're here, but this ain't the time to be picky." Reegar said as he ducked a bullet that would've cracked his face mask wide open. "Tali's inside over there. The geth killed the rest of my squad, and they're trying to get to her. Best I've been able to do is draw their attention."

"Are you sure she's still alive?" Shepard asked, ducking the dust from the impact of the colossus' latest blast.

"The observatory is reinforced. Even the geth will need some time to get through it. And it's hard to hack a door when someone's firing rockets at you." Star chuckled lightly so nobody would hear her. Reegar continued. "The geth are near platoon strength, but the colossus is the worst part. It's got a repair protocol. Huddles up and fixes itself." The pause in the mega-blasts told Shepard the colossus was doing just that. "I can't get a clear shot while it's down like that. I tried to move in closer, and one of the bastards punched a shot clean through my suit."

"We need to get to Tali. Got any ideas?"

"Just one. I'm not moving so well, but I can still pull a trigger, and I've got a rocket launcher that the sun hasn't fried yet. You move in close, I'll keep the colossus busy, maybe even drop its shields. With luck you'll be able to finish it off."

"You've done enough, Reegar. You don't need to throw your life away."

"Wasn't asking your permission. My job is to keep Tali safe. This is our best shot." The quarian said, standing. Before he could pull the trigger, Shepard pushed him to the side.

"We don't have enough people on our side for you to take one for the team! Stand down!" the marine ordered.

"I'm not going to stand there while you run into enemy fire! They killed my whole squad!" Reegar protested.

"And if you want to honor your squad, watch my back! I need you here in case they bring reinforcements!"

"Alright, Shepard. We'll do it your way" Kal said, defeated. "Hit them for me. Keelah se'lai."

With that all said and done, the team focused their full attention on the colossus and geth troopers closing in on them. The colossus kept its aim solely on Shepard for some reason, but Star wasn't about to start complaining. She focused on taking out the troopers taking potshots at her commanding officer between giant energy blasts. Shepard stayed across the field near Reegar, taking out geth that walked into the open with her Widow while simultaneously ducking the giant robot's blasts. Grunt and Star cleared the field, and finding no more geth to shoot, Shepard stormed across the field, stopping only to duck energy blasts as she and her squad moved left to attempt to flank the monstrosity. The troopers near the colossus began to pour out, and the firefight resumed.

 _'Starting to wish I'd let Reegar keep shooting that damn thing.'_ The marine thought, firing at the colossus to trigger its repair protocol.

"Watch out! Piece of crap's repairing itself!" Kal'Reegar yelled over her comm helpfully.

With the break in giant blasts, the team pressed forward and began to take out the extra geth troopers bunkered at the observatory doors. The colossus, now online again, had switched to firing like a machine gun at them now that they were so close, and Star had to tuck and roll out of the way, lest her barriers be destroyed. Grunt was laughing like a madman, or mad krogan, or normal krogan in this case. They liked big, dangerous things. Like thresher maws.

Shepard had to switch to her own heavy weapon, a Collector Particle Beam she'd recovered from a previous mission, to combat the colossus. Star threw in some Warp fields and Grunt, some incendiary bullets for good measure. Finally, the damn thing exploded, and the shooting subsided. Star could hear the quarian shout in victory across the field and chuckled. Shepard opened the observatory doors and they filed in.

"Just let me finish this download…" the purple-suited quarian inside was busy at the consoles. Shepard scanned the damaged geth inside with her Omni-tool, then walked up to Tali.

"Thank you, Shepard. If not for you, I would never have made it out of this room." Tali turned to face the squad. "This whole mission has been a disaster. I wish I'd joined you back on Freedom's Progress, but I couldn't let anyone take my place on something this risky."

"Looks like I just saved your mission." The commander replied, a bit smugly. "Maybe now your people will let me steal you for my mission."

"Just let me transmit the data from a secure channel. Then I can leave with you." Tali said, booting up her Omni-tool. "And if the admirals have a problem with it, they can go to hell. I just watched the rest of my team die." She added.

"Maybe not the whole rest of your team, ma'am." A familiar voice piped up behind them. Everyone turned to the source, an injured Kal'Reegar limping towards the group, clutching his side.

"Reegar! You made it!" Tali exclaimed happily.

"Your old captain's as good as you said. Damn colossus never stood a chance." He said with a hint of admiration. Shepard gave him a somewhat stern look.

"Tali's coming with me. I hope that's not a problem."

"Not as long as it's her choice."

"It is. Thank you, Reegar." Tali said, nodding.

"I'll pass the data to the Admiralty Board and let them know what happened." Kal turned to the commander. "She's all yours now, Shepard. Keep her safe."

* * *

Shepard met Tali in the Briefing Room with Jacob.

"Cerberus saw footage of you in action, Tali'Zorah. We're looking forward to having you on the team. Your engineering expertise will really benefit the mission." The Cerberus officer said. Tali kept pacing the floor around Shepard.

"I don't know who you are, but Cerberus threatened the security of the Migrant Fleet. Don't make nice." The quarian said in such a cold manner, it rivalled Miranda's.

"That's why you're here, Tali." Shepard turned to her. "I need people who aren't Cerberus – people I can trust."

"I wasn't part of what happened on the Migrant Fleet, but I understand your distrust." Jacob piped up again, leaning forward on the table. "I hope we'll get past that as we work together."

Tali turned back to Shepard, ignoring Jacob. "I assumed you were undercover, Shepard. Maybe even planning to blow Cerberus up. If that's the case, I'll loan you a grenade. Otherwise I'm here for you, not for them." The quarian folded her arms.

"If it helps, check out the Normandy while you're here. We've gotten a few upgrades." The commander suggested.

"I'll get Tali'Zorah the necessary security clearance to access our systems." Jacob added. Tali turned to him.

"Please do. I can't be part of your team if I don't know how the ship works." She began to walk to the door, but turned to the commander. "Remember Shepard, these people thought enslaving Thorian creepers and rachni was a good idea. I'll be in engineering."

"Don't forget to introduce yourself to EDI, the ship's new artificial intelligence." The officer called after her. Tali looked at him over her shoulder, then continued on her way without a word.

After Tali and Jacob left, Shepard went into her routine around the ship, first heading up to the bridge.

"It's great to see Tali on board, Commander. Just like old times." Joker said, turning his chair to Shepard. "It is her, right? I mean, because with the mask it's… ah, never mind."

"What do you think about the people we're picking up?"

"Well about the one's you went out with last… Star didn't look like she could hold a gun, let alone shoot one. I guess looks can be deceiving. Grunt is… not a stabilizing element, Commander. It's just my opinion, though. There's really no need to go spreading it around." The pilot replied.

"That's it for now."

"See you, Commander."

Shepard went to Kelly next.

"I had a wonderful chat with your friend Tali. She's not what I expected from her psych report. I like her."

"Tali's a good friend. We've been through a lot together."

"Quarians are so fascinating to me. But they also make me a little sad."

"Why do they make you sad?"

"Their environment suits are so beautiful, but with their immune systems, they're trapped inside. I wonder what they look like under those helmets, or what their skin feels like under those suits."

"That'll be all."

"I'll be here if you need anything."

Shepard then headed up to her cabin to feed her fish, then down to Engineering to talk with Tali.

* * *

Star wandered into the Tech Lab. EDI had sent her there, apparently Dr. Solus wanted to speak with her. She entered the room, and saw the salarian doctor busy at his work space, humming to himself. She cleared her throat to get his attention.

Mordin looked up. "Ah, Star! Please, sit." He motioned to the sick bed beside her. The merc sat down sheepishly. She wasn't a big fan of doctors.

"Dr. Chakwas mentioned abnormalities in your medical scans. Asked me to take a look." The salarian went on, gathering some supplies around the room.

"Abnormalities?" Star asked. She'd barely registered what the fast-talking alien had said as she watched him intently.

"Will have to run tests, need blood sample. How are you with needles?"

Star gulped. She was terrified of needles. "I'm a big girl, I can handle them." She replied with mock confidence. The salarian smiled slightly, unnerving her more.

"Excellent! Hold still please." Mordin approached her, syringe in his three-fingered hand. Star looked away and winced slightly as she felt the needle prick her arm. Mordin left as quickly as he came, and Star watched him analyzing her blood. He was muttering to himself as he worked, but she could barely make out what he was saying. After showing a confused look, and repeating a test several times, and staring befuddled at the results, he spoke up.

"Are you sick? Dying? Have terminal condition?"

"No, no, and I don't think so." Star matched his befuddled look. "Do I?"

"Not entirely sure. Concerns based on over-abundance of strange substance present in blood sample." The salarian pondered for a moment. "Require tissue sample for further tests."

Star watched as Mordin used a scalpel to extract the tissue sample he needed, and gave her medi-gel to stop the subsequent bleeding, and also collected a saliva sample. After analyzing those, he stared at her for a good three minutes, perfectly confused.

"Well, what's the damage?" She asked uneasily.

"Were you aware of abnormal constituents in bloodstream?"

"Not until five minutes ago, no."

The salarian took a deep breath. "You have an over-abundance of very potent neuro-toxin, present not just in blood, but perhaps in all bodily fluids. Was confused as to how you were not affected by its presence, until analyzed tissue sample. It seems toxin has integrated into cellular systems fully. Some cells now producing toxin. Others unaffected. Treat toxin as normal constituent."

Star's brow furrowed. Her body was producing poison? "What?"

"Toxin not harming cells in any way, actually does the opposite. Bolsters metabolic rate. Speeds up cell growth and tissue regeneration." Mordin stared thoughtfully at the samples before him. "If synthesized less harmful version, could lead to great medicinal breakthroughs. Too risky to try integration of base toxin. Subjects may not be as fortunate." He said, mostly to himself. Star thought it over. This poison was giving her regen. It probably saved her life a few times when she'd taken bullets. Well, if it wasn't killing her…

"Just how potent is this neuro-toxin?"

The professor looked up at her. "Enough to render a human unconscious for a short time with small ingested dose, such as exchanging saliva through oral contact."

"Well that just gave 'kiss of death' a whole new meaning."

The salarian ignored her remark and went back to his musings. "Will send report to Med-Bay. For now, have more urgent matters. Collector data to analyze. Samples to collect. Tests to run. Results to record. Seeker swarm counter-measure to adjust. Will need to make more potent, else may not be able to stop them next time." He drew a sharp breath. "Problematic."

Star slid off the sick bed and left the salarian to his work. She headed to the elevator and stepped in as it opened. As she rode to Deck 3, a thought crossed her mind.

 _'Wait… how many people has my spit killed?'_

She was lost in thought, backtracking through years of living on Omega in her mind, and she absently wandered off the elevator when the doors opened. She hadn't realized where she was until she walked right into shiny, damaged blue metal. Shaking the haze out of her head, she looked up at the turian in front of her. His scarred right mandible was held tightly to his face by a cast, the other working one was twitching slightly, and his small blue eyes had a piercing look that could burn a hole through a thresher maw's hide. He looked at her with a hint of wonder and concern, but promptly fell back into military professionalism. Star always disliked the stuck-up nature of turians, and always found herself asking the question 'who pushed a tree up your ass?' mentally after an encounter with them.

The vigilante nodded at her. "Star."

She nodded back. "Vakarian."

She glanced at him as he strode into the waiting elevator. The turian rarely left the Main Battery, so to see him walking around the ship doing anything other than calibrating cannons was a little strange. The smell of food broke her thoughts, and only then did she realize she hadn't eaten in days. Something about being on a ship again made her uneasy, and as much as she preached to herself that she was in no immediate danger unless she managed to piss her roommate off, she couldn't shake off the bad memories associated with frigates. Dismissing the re-emerging memories, she wandered into the mess hall, following the smell of dinner. Sergeant Gardner was bantering with one of the crew members about the quality of his food, and Star picked up what he was cooking; some kind of stew, apparently called "Calamari Gumbo", whatever the hell that was. Something he threw together with the high-quality ingredients Shepard picked up on their supply run to the Citadel. Still, it smelled edible, so she grabbed a tray and the cook gave her a healthy serving. She nodded appreciatively, she hadn't had a decent meal in ages. She could cook, but with all that had happened on Omega, she hadn't the time to cook anything. Taking a seat close to the elevator, she scanned the Mess, and her eyes fell on a figure sitting across from her at the other table. The drell assassin Shepard had recruited before the Justicar; Krios, she believed his name was. Thane Krios. She watched him as he sipped from his mug. Very few drell were on Omega, and she'd never got to see one up close. She could make out the faint lines in between his scales, her eyes tracing the frills on the sides his face down to his neck. The crimson ridges there looked smoother than the rest of him, she guessed those weren't scaled. His middle fingers were joined, and Star held her own fingers together, wondering what it was like. The leathers he wore hugged his body, and she could see the outlines of thick muscle in his arms and his chest through the open vest he wore under his jacket. It was only when his dark eyes flickered in her direction did she notice she had been staring, over-analyzing him. She shifted her gaze down to the food in front of her and felt her face redden in embarrassment.

 _'Of course he'd notice you. He's an assassin; noticing people is his specialty.'_ She mentally scolded herself. The drell had risen from his spot and was putting his now empty mug with the rest of the used trays. Star was surprised when he started walking in her direction, instead of straight to Life Support. Her eyes darted around nervously and she blinked.

 _'Oh goddess, he's gonna confront me, isn't he?'_

Instead, the drell walked past her, and Star found her eyes glued to his face in confusion as he did so. His eyes unblinking, facial features completely neutral, upper lip stiff. But there was something else there, a slight lingering look. A look of distress, _sadness_. Anyone else wouldn't notice it, but Star had spent a good deal of time with that same look on her face. She could pick it up a mile away. Deep inside her, something stirred. A strange desire. She wanted to talk to him, to hear his troubles. Possibly a result of her own griefs, or perhaps just a random stroke of kindness. She wasn't entirely sure.

 _'Nah, he probably doesn't want to be disturbed. Or to talk about whatever's bothering him. I should leave him alone.'_ She shook her head and turned her attention to her dinner. Taking a bite, her face fell with disappointment. Her food had gone cold. She gulped it down anyways and put the dirty tray with the rest, then headed for the elevator. Her gaze cast over to the doors of Life Support, and she shook her head.

 _'Leave the man who could kill you with a finger alone, Star.'_

Still staring at Life Support, she walked into the elevator doors before they opened.

 _'Goddammit.'_

* * *

Thane slipped out of his meditations at the hiss of the door opening behind him. He focused on the sound of the footsteps coming towards him. Light, irregular, signs of nervousness. They were human, he could tell from the scent that they had just come from Engineering. His lips twitched ever so slightly upwards.

"Do you need something?" he said in his usual stoic manner as the footsteps stopped. A sharp breath from his guest.

"Do you have a minute to talk?" her voice came. It was a slightly higher pitch than normal, and hints of strain at the very end. She was very nervous, but masked it quite well.

"Of course. Please, sit." He gestured to the chair across the table from him. The mercenary sat slowly. "I believed you would have attempted to avoid me after our encounter earlier."

Star shifted a bit. "Yeah, about that, um, sorry about staring at you, I've never seen a drell up close before."

Thane nodded. "I understand. I felt the same way meeting other species for the first time." He gave her a questioning look. "What is it you wished to discuss?"

The girl shuffled again, this time making it blatantly clear she was uneasy. She took another deep breath. "I wanted to talk about you. I, um, noticed something about you earlier…" her voice trailed off, as with her train of thought. The drell leaned forward and remained silent. When Star's eyes met his, he noticed the softness in them, the look of genuine concern.

"Sere Krios, why do you look so sad?"

Thane's eye ridges raised.

"Sad?"

"A-anyone else wouldn't notice it, but it's there." She sputtered quickly. "The lingering look of distress is not completely lost in your stoic expression."

Thane was surprised, to say the least.

"You have sharp eyes. Only a very experienced person could ever hope to notice details like that."

Star smiled slightly. "Thank you." Her expression softened again, waiting for his reply. The assassin considered his options. He had no intention of spilling his troubles onto someone he was barely acquainted with, but he didn't want to drive the girl away either. Suffice to say, he found her intriguing already.

"Are you aware of a disease called Kepral's Syndrome?" he finally said.

"No, can't say I've heard of it."

"It is non-communicable, and exclusive to drell. It develops from overexposure to moisture and causes degradation of our lungs. Eventually it spreads to other organs."

"You have Kepral's Syndrome?"

"Yes." Star almost looked… worried? No, he must be mistaken. "I've had it for a long time. My time is short now because of it, I may only have no longer than a year to live."

The mercenary remained silent. She kept her gaze squarely at her hands as they fidgeted with uncertainty. Thane was sure that she was going to get up and leave, and he leaned back in his chair. Then, she looked up at him again. The look she gave him made him feel as if he was going to melt into a puddle. His features almost instantly softened, as if reflexively, but quickly returned to normal. That was strange.

"My mother had a terminal illness. She never let it bother her though, she was always smiling and she acted so sweetly." She said softly. "We could all see she was getting worse, but she did so gracefully, like a wilting rose."

"How old were you when her last petal fell?" Star's eyes fell again, but this time her right eye welled up with a single tear. She blinked it away.

"It never did. Let's just say her tree got cut down. I was seven."

Thane understood, and nodded solemnly. "I'm sorry for your loss."

"Thanks." She smiled, then got up. "Thanks for talking to me, too."

The drell nodded again. "I will be here if you need anything."

He watched her as she walked out of the room.

 _'Interesting…'_


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter Three – Tuchanka

"Is there anything I should know?"

The Yeoman nodded to her CO. "You have unread messages at your private terminal. Operative Lawson would like to see at her station on the crew deck. Operative Taylor would like to see you over in the armory. Jack would like to see you down in her hidey-hole on the engineering deck. Grunt seems very anxious, pacing down in the cargo hold. You might want to check on him. Anything else, Commander?"

"That'll be all."

"I'll be here if you need anything."

Shepard turned and headed into the elevator. Time to deal with personal missions.

* * *

Miranda:

Shepard walked into Miranda's office and her XO looked up from her work.

"Shepard, I find myself in the unpleasant position of asking for your help." The ice queen said, cupping her hands. "I don't like discussing personal matters… but this is important."

"Miranda, you're one of my crew." Shepard responded softly. "Tell me what's on your mind."

"My father was extremely wealthy. He wanted the ideal daughter, and he paid a great deal to genetically tailor me. When I learned that my father was more interested in controlling a dynasty than raising a daughter, I left."

"How did your father take that?"

"He was less than pleased. Several of his security guards were injured in the process. He knows not to come after me. But this isn't about me…" she said as she stood up and walked over to Shepard. "I have a sister. A twin. And he's still hunting her. Cerberus has kept her safe. Until now. She's living a normal life on Illium, safe and hidden from my father."

"So you think your father has tracked her down."

"Precisely, Commander. My sources indicate he knows she's on Illium. I've tried to keep her hidden without impacting her life, but I'm out of options." The commander folded her arms. "He's too close. I need to relocate my sister's family before it's too late."

"What do you need me to do?"

"My father is extremely persistent. I'd like to go to Illium while Cerberus is moving the family to make sure none of his agents get too close. My contact's name is Lanteia. She'll be waiting for us in the lounge near the Nos Astra docking bay." The Cerberus operative went back to her chair.

* * *

Jack:

The moment Shepard approached Jack she jumped up and started pacing like she was crazy. Crazier. Surprisingly, Star wasn't down there to witness it.

"I got thoughts like little bugs crawling in and out of my head. I can't stop them." The biotic said, holding her head. She stormed past Shepard and sat on the staircase.

"You know I have a history with Cerberus. You know how far back it goes?" she asked as the commander walked up to her.

"We've got work to do. Get to the point." Came the reply.

"I work for you, and you work for Cerberus. They're in my face all the time. This is gonna make me crazy. Crazier." Jack braced her hands against her thighs. "Your pal, the Illusive Man? Never seen him before, but Cerberus raised me. First thing I remember is my cell door in a Cerberus base. They did experiments. Drugged me. Tortured me. Whatever chance I had to be normal, they stole it by trying to turn me into some super-biotic. The doctors… the other kids… Every one of them hated me. They let me suffer."

"You're absolutely certain that Cerberus was running the facility?" the marine stood with her hands behind her.

"I was a kid, but I wasn't dumb. I know how to listen. It was Cerberus. Don't care how far down the chain it was. They thought they were so clever. Turns out, mess with someone's head enough and you can turn a scared kid into an all-powerful bitch. Fucking idiots."

"I'm going to talk to the Illusive Man, and he'd better have some answers."

"He'll just deny everything. That's not what I'm after anyway. I found the coordinates in your files. I want to go to the Teltin facility on Pragia, where they tortured and drugged me." The convict stood up. "I want to go to the center of the place, my cell. I want to deploy a big fucking bomb. And I want to watch from orbit when it goes."

"I'll set a course for Pragia."

"I owe you, Shepard." Jack said, walking back to her cot.

* * *

Grunt:

Just like Jack, the moment Shepard walked into Port Cargo, the krogan started pacing around the room.

"Chambers said you're tearing up the place. Something wrong?"

"Something… is wrong, Shepard. I feel wrong. I just want to kill something. With my hands." The tank-bred stormed over to the window overlooking the shuttle bay. "More so than usual, like it's not my choice. Like I just want to, I don't know…" Grunt suddenly head-butted the glass in front of him, cracking it up. He walked back over to Shepard. "See? Why do that? What's wrong?"

"Okeer didn't imprint anything to help you figure this out?"

"I see pictures of old battles, voices of warlords. But this is… a blood haze in my head. I want control. When we're moving, fighting, I focus. But here, my blood screams, my plates itch, and even you are just noise!" the krogan paced between the commander and his tank. "I'm tank-born. What is this?"

"I want you in the infirmary. I can't have some krogan disease running rampant."

"Your doctors only see victims of krogan. My kind do not share with aliens, not after the genophage. We won't find someone who's seen this. A krogan my age would still be on the homeworld, Tuchanka."

"Joker can get us to the krogan homeworld. I need everyone at their best."

"Thank you, Shepard. I don't like this. Fury is my choice, not a sickness."

* * *

Jacob:

Shepard walked into the armory and towards Jacob, who turned to her.

"Commander? Sorry, I'm a little unfocused. Personal matter. It won't affect my duties."

"The yeoman said you wanted to see me. What's this about, Jacob?"

"As I said, it's a personal matter. I don't want to waste our time if it turns out to be a goose chase. But…" his voice trailed off as he wandered to the other side of the table and leaned against it. Shepard folded her arms. "Well, I got pinged by a ghost the other night. Family."

"It's only a waste of time if you jerk me around. What is it?"

"My father was first officer on a ship that went missing ten years ago. I had not talked to him for three years prior. His ship, the Hugo Gernsback, sent an SOS last week, reporting a crash and a request for rescue. Just like that, out of the black. I'm not convinced it isn't just some automated distress signal ticking over. It's been too long."

"I'd think you'd be more excited that your father might be alive."

"He wasn't around long enough for me to have bad memories. It's an old, well-healed wound. But if he's actually alive and needs help…" he folded his arms. "I also want to note that it's not normal procedure for distress calls to be routed to the Normandy. This was passed to my personal log through Cerberus filters."

"I think we can spare the time. Pass the coordinates to Joker."

"I appreciate that, Commander. I don't expect to find more than dusty old bones, but it'll be good to close the record." Jacob said and went back to his station.

* * *

Mordin:

Shepard walked into the tech lab, hoping to hear the elder salarian's opinion of her latest mission. But before she could say anything, he spoke first.

"Shepard. Important news. Know you're busy. Have to deal with Collectors. Planning attack. Too important to wait. Just received data, still processing, analyzing likely scenarios. Not sure how to begin. Too much intel." He was talking much faster than normal, his mouth trying desperately to keep up with his thoughts. Shepard's mind was having a hard time keeping up with either. "You remember our talk? My work on genophage modification?"

"You stopped the krogan adaptation to the genophage."

"Part of a team. Scientists, all different types. Blood Pack mercenaries captured former team member, Maelon. Last seen on Tuchanka. Might torture him. Make an example. Recovering Maelon would be a personal favor to me." He said, looking down as he spoke."

"We'll go to Tuchanka and see if we can find your team member."

"Appreciate it. My assistant. My student. Want to see him safe. Maelon last seen outside Urdnot territory. Scouts might have seen Blood Pack. Talk to them or clan chief." The scientist turned his attention back to his console.

Shepard turned and headed back into CIC and went up to the Galaxy Map.

"Joker, head for the Krogan DMZ!"

* * *

The Kodiak descended into the tunnel leading to Urdnot's landing zone on Tuchanka. Shepard, Garrus and Grunt stepped out and were greeted by a group of krogan waiting for them. If 'greeted' meant 'barked at'. They pulled out their guns and pointed them at the squad.

"The clan leader wants to speak with you." The Overcaptain said in the least-friendliest way. "Keep your rutting pet on a short leash. Get him the Rite soon, or put him down." He looked at Grunt, who started fidgeting again.

"You know what's wrong with him? What he needs?"

"There's nothing wrong with him. Just go speak to the clan leader." The krogan barked, waving them off. The squad headed into the underbelly of the structure, to the center of Urdnot. EDI's voice chimed in over their comms.

"Urdnot clan reports use weak encryptions. I see references to a captured salarian in the logs of the chief scout. Also, I have been unable to access local medical records. I suggest asking the local clan leader for assistance with Grunt's problem."

As they entered the clan square, Shepard went left towards the krogan standing near a kiosk with a varren. The krogan looked up from his datapad.

"Greetings, human. My name is Ratch. Have a look at what I've got." He said, motioning to his kiosk.

"Everyone I talk to hates that aliens are in Urdnot. Except you." The commander said, raising an eyebrow.

"I don't have the luxury of turning away paying customers. I do enough business off-world to know you aliens have more credits than the people here do."

"What do you have in stock?"

"Most of its food and drink that's toxic to humans. Ryncol's a local favorite. Don't try to act tough. It'll tear your insides apart."

"He's not joking. Ryncol hits aliens like ground glass." Grunt added.

"Otherwise, I've got weapons, scrap… and whatever food those pyjaks don't steal. Which isn't much. Take a look at my kiosk other there if you want to buy something."

"I'm a good shot. Maybe I can help out with the pyjaks." Shepard offered. The krogan shrugged.

"Feel free. You can use the console out there to control the guns. Make a dent in the pyjak population, and you get a discount." He gestured to the console near the defense guns, where a cheeky pyjak was sitting, staring at the krogan working there. "Good luck with that."

"I should go."

"Suit yourself." Ratch went back to his data pad. Shepard headed to the guns, stopping to hear Grunt's opinion of Tuchanka.

"This is the great krogan homeworld? This is the land of Kredak, Shiagur and Veeoll? This chunk of rock is barely worth standing on! Never thought I'd miss the tank." The krogan muttered. Shepard chuckled lightly and went up to the console beside the chief scout, where the defense guns were.

"At first I thought it was a waste of ammunition, just to kill incoming vermin." Garrus piped up behind her. "Now I think, if these Urdnot can pinpoint such small mammals with these guns, they'll make short work of incoming invasion force."

Shepard activated the console. "Look at 'em run! Ha!" the chief scout yelled as she started blasting the incoming pyjaks. After she'd finished three waves of the little animals, Shepard went back to Ratch.

"Seeing those vermin roasting from the heat of an explosive shell… I swear, it was glorious." The krogan said happily.

Shepard folded her arms. "I didn't do that for my health. Let's talk payment."

Ratch nodded. "You have a lot of skill with those cannons, I'm not going to argue with you. I'll give you a discount at my store. Anything you want, you'll buy at cost."

The marine nodded and walked over to the kiosk, purchased a few upgrades and some pyjak meat. She turned to the varren sitting beside Ratch and it stood up. She petted it. "Good varren." It growled contently. "Here. Try this." She threw the pyjak meat at it and the varren ate it up happily. Ratch turned at the happily growling varren.

"Hah! Looks like Urz finally found someone to follow around!" he said grinning. Urz snarled in agreement and started following the commander, who made her way up to the makeshift throne where a familiar face sat, looking particularly bored while another krogan in blue armor was ranting away at him. The guards stopped her just before she could get close.

"Halt!" the krogan guard ordered. "You must wait till the clan leader summons you. He is… in talks." The guard glanced behind him at the ranting krogan.

"You know what tradition demands – Clan Urdnot must respond." The ranting krogan paced before the clan leader. Ignoring him, the leader sat up and looked who the guards had stopped. "Your reforms will not go unopposed. You risk appearing weak at a critical time." The clan leader stood up, cutting the other krogan off.

"Shepard."

Shepard and the guard turned to face him. "Good enough?" she said. The clan leader pushed the other krogan aside and marched up to the commander, who slid between the guards. "Excuse me."

"Shepard! My friend!" Urdnot Wrex bellowed, grabbing Shepard's hand and shaking it. "You look well for dead, Shepard. Should have known the void couldn't hold you." He said with a grin.

"Looks like helping me destroy Saren and the geth has worked out for you. Glad we didn't have to kill each other on Virmire." She responded.

"Ha! You made the rise of Urdnot possible." Wrex said, taking a few steps back. "Virmire was a turning point for the krogan, though not everyone was happy about it." He glanced at the other krogan, who walked up to him. "Destroying Saren's genophage cure freed us from his manipulation. I used that to spur the clans to unify under Urdnot."

"You abandoned many traditions to get your way." The other krogan said, waving him off. "Dangerous."

Wrex turned to him, and headbutted him hard. "Speak when spoken to, Uvenk. I'll drag your clan to glory whether it likes it or not." He said, walking to his chair and sitting. Shepard glanced at Uvenk, who was rubbing the point of impact, and followed Wrex. "Now, Shepard. What brings you here? How's the Normandy?"

"Destroyed in a Collector surprise attack. I ended up spaced."

"Well, you look good. Ah, the benefits of a redundant nervous system!"

"Yeah, humans don't have that."

"Oh. It must have been painful, then. But you're standing here, and you've got a strong new ship. Takes me back to the old days. Us against the unknown, killing it with big guns. Good times."

"Sounds like you've got big changes ahead for the krogan."

"We are making a neutral ground where all clans are welcome. Fertile females can be shared among clans. We will strengthen the race as a whole."

"You threaten everything that makes us strong." Uvenk spoke up. "It will not last."

"Maybe." Wrex replied. "Until then you're lucky to be a part of it."

"This sounds ambitious." Shepard said. "How's it gone so far?"

"Better than I'd feared, worse than I'd hoped."

"It can't continue. You are going against what makes us strong." Uvenk interjected again.

"Sounds like you're not making friends." The commander commented.

"Traditionalists like Uvenk are chained varren. Always fighting, guarding their pathetic stick in the ground. When the smoke clears, I can plant the flag on their corpses and rally the rest around a new krogan hub."

"Sounds like you're counting on a lot of bloodshed, even after you unite."

"It will be slow, but I won't change what we are. Krogan are judged by the strength of their enemies. Our worst insult is to say someone's 'not worth killing.'"

"I hope that works well for your people. But back to the reason I'm here…"

"We don't often allow aliens to do business on Tuchanka, but you're an exception."

"I have a krogan on my crew." She pointed to Grunt. "He's got some kind of sickness and needs treatment." Wrex stared at Grunt as he stepped forward.

"Where are you from, whelp? Was your clan destroyed before you could learn what is expected of you?"

"I have no clan." Grunt responded as Uvenk paced around him. "I was tank-bred by Warlord Okeer, my line distilled from Kredak, Moro, Shiagur—"

"You recite warlords, but you are the offspring of a syringe!" Uvenk interrupted.

"I am pure krogan. You should be in awe."

"Okeer is a very old name. A very hated name." Wrex commented, standing up.

"He is dead." Grunt replied, as Wrex walked up to him.

"Of course. You're with Shepard. How could he be alive?"

"Does that name mean anything to you, Wrex?" She asked, stepping forward.

"A vicious warlord responsible for many deaths. Who apparently toyed with genetics." He turned back to Grunt. "A clone undertaking the Rite…?"

"You are considering it? Tank-bred allowed to status as an adult?" Uvenk piped up again. "This is too far!" Wrex ignored him, turning back to Shepard.

"There's nothing wrong with him. He is becoming a full adult."

"Adolescence?" Garrus piped up. "Can't we just take him to Omega and buy him a few dances?"

"I don't care what aliens call it. Krogan undergo the Rite of Passage."

"Too far, Wrex! Your clan may rule, but this thing is not krogan." Uvenk yelled, stomping off as Wrex, Shepard and her squad watched him go.

"Idiot." Wrex muttered, then turned back to Grunt. "So, Grunt? Do you wish to stand with Urdnot?"

"This is his choice." Shepard said.

Grunt looked over Urdnot thoughtfully, then responded. "It is in my blood. It is what I am for."

"Good boy. Speak with the shaman – he's over on the second level. Give him a good show, and he'll set you on the path." Wrex went back to his chair. "You too, Shepard. How many times have you stepped in a mess for your crew, hmm?" he added as he sat down.

"Good to see you, Wrex. Sure you can't come with us?"

"Wish I could, but I need to keep these shortsighted fools in line. Hunt well, Shepard." The team made their way to the shaman, where Uvenk was arguing with him.

"You go beyond yourself, Gatatog Uvenk!" the shaman barked. "The rites of Urdnot are dominant!"

"How do we know it will challenge him? He's unnatural! The beasts of the Rite could ignore him like a lump of plastic!"

"They know blood, no matter the womb. Your barking does not help your case."

"I'll speak for myself!" Grunt interjected. The quarrelling krogans turned to him.

"This is the tank-bred?" The shaman asked, stepping to Grunt. "It is very lifelike. Smells correct as well. Your protests ring hollow, Uvenk."

"I don't care what this idiot says. Grunt has a right to be here." Shepard said annoyed, gesturing to Uvenk.

The shaman chuckled. "There's some fire – and from an alien! Oh, the shame it seeks on those who whine like pups." He glanced at Uvenk.

"If this must stand on ritual, then I invoke a denial! My krantt stands against him! He has no one!" Uvenk barked again.

The shaman sighed. "My patience is tested, but Uvenk invokes correctly. Grunt, who is your krantt? Your allies willing to kill and die on your behalf?"

"Grunt will strengthen Clan Urdnot. Name our target, and it will die." Shepard answered.

"Spoken well!" the shaman exclaimed. "Most aliens – and some krogan-" he glanced at Uvenk "-do not understand our ways. I believe this human does."

"Aliens don't know strength! My followers are true krogan. Everything about Grunt –"

Before Uvenk could finish, Shepard stepped forward and rammed her head into his. The krogan stepped back, half by the force and half out of shock.

"You… you dare?"

"Ba ha ha ha!" the shaman laughed. "I like this human! She understands!"

Uvenk glared at the human. "I withdraw my denial. This will be decided elsewhere!" The krogan grunted, pushing Shepard out of the way as he stormed off. The shaman watched him leave and chuckled.

"You have provoked them. Reason enough for me to like you. They're your problem now." He commented.

"We're ready. Let's do this." Shepard said as Grunt hit his fists together in agreement.

"Excellent." The shaman said, then motioned to them to follow him. Before they left Urdnot, Shepard called for another squad member, switching Garrus for Star. The three piled into a truck with the shaman and they drove out from Urdnot. When the truck finally stopped, they filed out and Grunt and the shaman walked ahead.

"This is Tuchanka's most recent scar, the last surface city to fall in the rebellions. The keystone was at the heart." He said as they walked into the fallen city's remains. "It has survived wars and the passages of centuries. It endures – like the krogan." He continued as they entered the city. Grunt looked around at the vast wasteland. "If you wish to join Clan Urdnot, you must contemplate the keystone and its trials."

"What will happen?" Grunt asked as they approached the keystone.

"Who knows? You must adapt. You must thrive, no matter the situation. Any true krogan will."

Star wiped the dust from her eyes as the shaman left them and looked around. So this was Tuchanka, the krogan homeworld. No wonder they were so proud. Their home was a wasteland; pride was all they had left. The squad prepared for the rite and Shepard walked around, salvaging credits and thermal clips lying around.

"Let's get started, Shepard. Hit the keystone!" Grunt called. She obliged momentarily and the shaman's voice sounded over the intercom.

"First the krogan conquered Tuchanka… and mastered a natural world only we are fit to hold."

A large hammer that was being raised behind the keystone as the shaman spoke dropped, and the sound of snarling and growling caught the squad's attention. They moved to the edge of the platform.

"Here they come! I'm ready!" Grunt yelled, a little excited.

 _'Krogan.'_ Star shook her head, then turned her attention (and bullets) to the incoming varren. The firefight was short, the varren didn't stand a snowball's chance in hell against their guns and Grunt's concussive shots.

"There! These beasts will know I am worthy!" Grunt kept yelling things like that while they fought. Star intentionally hurled a varren in his direction with her biotics, but he blasted it in half with his shotgun and laughed like a mad… like a krogan.

After they gunned down the last of the beasts, Star wandered around picking up spare thermal clips and Grunt called to Shepard to tag the keystone again.

"Then the krogan were lifted to the stars to destroy the fears of a galaxy, an enemy only we could chase to their lair." The voice over the intercom said, and the hammer fell again, shaking the earth. A Harvester flew overhead, landing in the field below them and let out a screech as it dropped smaller insects and flew off.

"Crawlers! Come to your death!" Grunt yelled at the red beasts that approached them. Klixen. The team started peppering the crawlers with their incendiary ammo and concussive shots. Star found herself in the unfortunate position of running from one of the beasts when it started spitting flames at her. Luckily, her barriers held out. Grunt charged at it, laughing maniacally and was seemingly unaffected when it blew up. Okay, now he was a mad krogan.

The klixen were a little more challenging than the varren, but with enough concussive shots, even they were no match for the three.

"We need to trigger the keystone to continue the rite." Grunt said. It seemed like he'd calmed down now. Shepard triggered the keystone again, and the intercom sounded.

"Now all krogan bear the genophage, our reward, our curse. It is a fight where the only goal is survival!" the hammer dropped once more, even harder than last time. The ground kept shaking and a loud roar sent a chill down Star's spine.

"Feel that? Everything… is shaking. I am ready!" the krogan yelled with renewed vigor. Somehow, Star didn't share his enthusiasm. Several blue tentacles rose up from the ground and the commander fired at one of them. They all sank back into the ground and the shaking got more intense as a giant worm-like beast rose from the ground in the tentacles' wake. Star's face fell.

 _'Is that a fucking thresher maw.'_

"Finally! An enemy worth fighting!" Grunt yelled, firing at the maw's thick armored hide. The monster responded by spitting acid blasts at them and relocating every few seconds. The squad blasted it with everything they had, Star threw Warp field after Warp field at it, Shepard blasting it with her heavy weapon and diving out of the way of the thresher maw's acid projectiles, which burned right through Star's barriers when she got hit. When Shepard ran out of heavy weapon ammo, she had to resort to using her Widow, and a well-timed shot was what finally brought down the dreaded beast. Grunt cheered loudly at their accomplishment and Star joined him. An incoming shuttle brought the celebrating to a halt, and Grunt looked up at it.

"We have company. Good. I want more."

 _You'd think a thresher maw would've been anyone's definition of 'more'._

The squad walked over to where the ship landed, and were greeted by Uvenk and, judging by the color of their armor, krogans from Clan Gatatog.

"You live, and you brought down the thresher maw. No one has done that in generations. Urdnot Wrex was the last." Uvenk said as they approached.

"My krantt gave me strength beyond my genes. Which are damned good." Grunt responded gruffly.

"This will cause discussion." Uvenk stepped off the ridge and walked up to Grunt. "I wonder… you say you are pure? No alien meddling in your construction? Just the warlord Okeer?"

"Come on, Uvenk. You want to try killing him, give it your best shot." Shepard taunted.

The krogan held up his hand. "Not yet. This deserves consideration."

"Why? I'm not getting any more natural." Grunt said with a hint of sarcasm.

"You are powerful. You are a mistake, but your potential could tip the current balance of the clans."

"You spit on my father's name! On Shepard's name! But now you stop ranting because I'm strong?"

"With restrictions." Uvenk continued. "You could not breed, of course. Or serve on an alien ship. But you'd be clan in name."

"If I know Grunt, your answer's coming at muzzle velocity." Shepard retorted with a small smirk.

"You do know Grunt." Grunt turned to Shepard and responded with a grin. He slammed his fists together. "This varren is dead." He sprinted up to Uvenk and rammed himself into the krogan. Star grinned and the other krogans drew their weapons. Grunt and Shepard exchanged glances and the squad dived for cover as Shepard barely dodged an incoming missile. The ensuing firefight didn't last very long after Shepard took out Uvenk, while Star and Grunt dealt with the other warriors, gunning them down and throwing them around, a mixture of fire, biotics and brute force.

"Uvenk is meat. Let's signal the keystone to get out of here, and leave him to rot." Grunt said after the fight. Shepard activated the keystone and moments later, an Urdnot scout showed up and led them back to the truck.

* * *

"You have passed the Rite of Passage, earning the honor of clan and name." the shaman exclaimed as they walked up to him back at Urdnot. "Many survive, but it has been years since a thresher maw fell! Your names shall live in glory." He commented with admiration as Grunt knelt before him. "Grunt, you are Urdnot. You may now own property, join the army, and apply to serve under a battlemaster."

"Shepard is my battlemaster. She has no match." He replied.

"Understood. Congratulations, Urdnot Grunt." He said as Grunt stood. "Accept this token from Fortack. His weapons are the finest we have."

"I should go." Shepard said.

"May your foes be strong enough to keep you sharp." The shaman replied as the squad walked off. Before heading back to the Normandy, Shepard decided to go see Wrex again.

"You just can't help making trouble." Wrex said as the squad approached him. "No one has killed a maw since my turn in the Rite. Next you'll tell me he's a quint and craps dark matter. Guess that's what it takes to replace me." He peered at Grunt as he walked up to him and stroked his chin. "You are Urdnot Grunt. Welcome." He said finally, nodding.

Shepard stepped forward. "I'm looking for a salarian. He was captured by the Blood Pack and brought here."

"My scout commander can direct you. He's probably near the perimeter running target practice. Don't take too much of his time. I need a constant watch on the other clans."

"I need to go. We'll go over this another time." The commander said, and started off.

"Watch yourself, Shepard. Tuchanka isn't safe and homey, like Feros and Ilos." Wrex called after her. As they headed back to the Kodiak, Star overheard the krogans around the camp talking about the results of Grunt's rite, specifically the dead thresher maw. EDI chimed in over their comms again.

"Urdnot clan reports use weak encryptions. I see references to a captured salarian in the logs of the chief scout. In addition, killing the thresher maw has produced several breeding requests for Grunt. And one for Shepard."

Star and Grunt burst out laughing.

Back on the Normandy, Shepard called for Garrus and Mordin, and Star and Grunt went to clean the dust and blood off themselves.

Shepard went back into Urdnot and to the Chief Scout. The krogan turned from his console at the guns.

"What do you want, human? Wrex told me to be polite. He didn't say you were going to talk to me." he said gruffly.

"I'm looking for a salarian. The Blood Pack captured him, and he was last seen around here." Shepard replied.

The chief turned back to the console, leaning against the surface. "I heard about that salarian, poor bastard. If it's Blood Pack, then Clan Weyrloc has him. Sent one of my scouts to check it out, but he never reported back. Guess they got him, too." He added, turning back to the group. "Chief told me to give you one of the trucks. Just follow the highway to Weyrloc's base, if you've got the quads to deal with him and the Blood Pack."

Shepard nodded to him and they headed for the waiting truck. They got in and followed the highway, like the chief scout said, and soon they were outside the Weyrloc base. The squad vaulted out of the truck and moved forward. They were soon greeted by a few klixen crawling towards them, and made short work of the giant insects with Garrus' concussive shot and Mordin's incineration tech. As they advanced, they were met with more klixen and varren, and Blood Pack vorcha with flamethrowers and krogan warriors. When they'd killed the last of the vorcha, Shepard picked up a spare truck part outside the base before bypassing the door and going inside.

"Repurposed krogan hospital. Sturdy. Built to withstand punishment." Mordin commented.

"That's unfortunate. Hospitals aren't fun to fight through." Garrus said.

"What is fun to fight through?" Shepard asked over her shoulder.

"Gardens, electronics shops. Antique stores, but only if they're classy."

Shepard chuckled lightly, but her face fell as she noticed the dead body at the bottom of the stairs. Mordin stopped to examine it.

"That body. Human. Need to take a look." He said, kneeling beside the body and scanning it with his Omni-tool. "Sores, tumors, ligatures showing restraint at wrists and ankles. Track marks for repeated injection sites. Test subject. Victim of experimentation."

"They're trying to cure the genophage. Why experiment on non-krogan?" Shepard asked.

"Humans useful as test subjects. Genetically diverse. Enables exploration of treatment modalities." The salarian replied as the commander knelt beside him.

"Experimenting on humans? That kind of crap is what makes Cerberus start to seem like a good idea!"

"Never used humans myself. Disgusting, unethical, sloppy. Used by brute force researchers, not thinkers. No place in proper science." Mordin inhaled sharply. "Krogan use of humans unsurprising."

"I imagine you had to do some live-subject testing while developing the new genophage."

"No. Unnecessary. Limited tests to simulations, corpses, cloned tissue samples. High-level tests on varren. No tests on species with members capable of calculus. Simple rule, never broke it."

"Now we've got two reasons to shut this place down."

Mordin shut of his Omni-tool and they rose. "Focus on Maelon. Too late to help the dead."

They continued through the corridors until we went through a door and saw a group of krogan walking out of the door on the balcony upstairs.

"I am the speaker for Clan Weyrloc, offworlders." The krogan up front said. "You have shed our blood. By rights, you should be dead already. But Weyrloc Guld, the Chief of Chiefs, has ordered that you be given leave to flee and spread the message of our coming."

"If I flee, I might trip over the dozen krogan I killed to get here. I think I'll take my chances." Shepard replied smugly, gesturing over her shoulder.

"You killed our youngest and weakest, human. They were not worthy of remaining near our glorious work. Inside you will find only hardened Blood Pack veterans, tempered by savagery and war and dedicated to one goal." The krogan barked. "The salarian will cure the genophage and Clan Weyrloc will spread across the galaxy in a sea of blood!"

"Appears they discovered Maelon's work. Unfortunate." Mordin muttered.

"If you care about the future of Clan Weyrloc, you'll hand over Maelon. Now." The commander ordered.

"When we cure the genophage, Weyrloc Guld will rule all krogan! The Krogan Rebellions will become the Krogan Empire!" the clanspeaker rattled on. While he spoke, Shepard noticed a gas tank under the balcony,and had an idea.

"You talk too much." She said, interrupting his speech, and shot the tank with her sidearm. The krogan, thinking she missed him, scoffed.

"See? The human cannot hit a simple target!" he said, pulling his own weapon. The clan guards stepped back as he paused for a second. _What was that smell…?_

Shepard's second shot ignited the gas, lighting the clanspeaker on fire in the process. The other krogan began to fire at the squad as they ducked into cover. The squad brought down the advancing krogans quickly then focused on the vorcha firing rockets at them from above. Once the area was clear, they moved on down the corridor.

"Labs likely through here. Can smell antiseptic, hint of dead flesh." Mordin commented. Surely enough, the next door they went through led to a lab of sorts, and Shepard approached a computer terminal that was still operational.

"Active console. May contain useful data. One moment." The scientist salarian walked up to the terminal. "Genetic sequences. Hormone mutagens still steady. Protein chains, live tissue, cloned tissue. Very thorough." He read through the files on the screen. "Standard treatment vectors. Avoiding scorched-earth immuno-suppressants to alter hormone levels. Good. Hate to see that."

"Most people wouldn't be so casual about developing a sterility plague, Mordin."

"Not developing. Modifying. Much more difficult. Working within confines of existing genophage. A hundred times the complexity. Errors unacceptable. Could cause total sterility, malignant tumors. Could even reduce effectiveness. Worse than doing nothing. Had to keep krogan population stable. One in one thousand. Perfect target, optimal growth. Like gardening." The salarian said with a smile.

"You're saying you were working just as hard to keep their population from falling?"

"Yes." He nodded. "Could have eradicated krogan. Not difficult. Increase mutation to degrade genetic structure further. Chose not to. Rachni extinction tragic. Didn't want to repeat. All life precious. Universe demands diversity."

"Pretty it up however you like. You're talking about murdering millions!"

"No. Murdered no one. Altered fertility, prevented fetal development of nervous system. Have killed many, Shepard. Many methods. Gunfire, knives, drugs, tech attacks, once with farming equipment. But not with medicine."

"We're not going to find Maelon staring at consoles. Come on." They left the console and Shepard walked around the lab, picking up minerals and research data. In the next room, they found a krogan body and Mordin went to examine the datapad beside it.

"Dead krogan. Female. Tumors indicate experimentation. No restraint marks. Volunteer." He said, turning his attention back to the corpse. "Sterile Weyrloc female willing to risk procedures. Hoped for cure. Pointless. Pointless waste of life."

"I didn't expect you to be disturbed by the sight of a dead krogan."

"What? Why? Because of genophage work? Irrelevant. No, causative. Never experimented on live krogan. Never killed with medicine. Her death not my work, but reaction to it." The salarian said almost angrily. He walked back to the body. "Goal was to stabilize population. Never wanted this. Can see it logically… but still unnecessary. Foolish waste of life. Hate to see it." He added, leaning on the table.

"I didn't think you'd had much direct contact with things like this. Did you come to Tuchanka after dropping your plague?"

"Yearly recon missions. Water, tissue samples. Ensure no mistakes. Superiors offered to carry it on. Refused. Need to see it in person." He stood up straight. "Need to look. Need to see. Accept it as necessary." He drew a deep breath. "See small picture. Remind myself why I run a clinic on Omega." Mordin raised his hand over the body. "Rest, young mother. Find your gods. Find someplace better."

"I didn't expect spirituality from you, Mordin."

"Genophage modification project altered millions of lives. Then saw results. Ego, humility, juxtaposition. Frailty of life. Size of universe. Explored religions after work completed. Different race. No answers. Many questions."

"Sounds like you were trying to deal with your guilty conscience. The doctor who killed millions."

"Modified genophage project great in scope. Scientifically brilliant. But ethically difficult. Krogan reaction visceral, tragic. Not guilty, but responsible. Trained as doctor. Genophage affects fertility. Doesn't kill. Still caused this. Hard to see big picture behind pile of corpses." Mordin said solemnly.

"Can you really just rationalize it all away? How do you justify it?"

The salarian took a deep breath. "Wheel of life. Popular salarian concept. Similar to human Hinduism in focus on reincarnation. Appealing to see life as endless. Fix mistakes in next life. Learn, adapt, improve." He said as he paced slowly. "Refuse to believe life ends here. Too wasteful. Have more to offer. Mistakes to fix. Cannot end here. Could do so much more."

"If you need this much soul searching to get over it, maybe the genophage was wrong."

"Had to be done. Rachni Wars, Krogan Rebellions all pointed to krogan aggression. So many simulations. Effects of krogan population increase. All pointed to war. Extinction. Genophage or genocide. Save galaxy from krogan. Save krogan from galaxy."

The commander walked up to the doctor and gestured to the corpse. "Look at the dead woman, Mordin. It doesn't look like you saved her."

Mordin glanced at the body. "No, it doesn't." Shepard walked past the salarian as he hung his head. "Worked with available data. Only option. No other possible…" He shook his head. "Doesn't matter."

They moved forward and came to a room at the end of the hallway. There was a krogan sitting in the room, and another krogan corpse, Blood Pack. Shepard walked up to the krogan.

"You killed the Blood Pack guards!" the sick krogan piped up.

"Not Blood Pack, not member of Clan Weyrloc. Wrong clan markings." Mordin said.

"I'm an Urdnot scout. Weyrloc guards got me. Brought me here." The krogan responded.

"The chief scout told us to watch for you. We've taken out the guards. Get back to Urdnot." The Commander said to him.

"I can't. The Weyrloc did things to me. Drugs. Injections. Said I was sacrificing for the good of all krogan. Experiments to cure the genophage. Everything's blurry. Hard to think. Have to stay."

"Mordin, can you get him back on his feet? Stims, maybe? Something to bolster his immune system?" she turned to the salarian doctor.

"You don't understand. I'm not too sick to leave. I have to stay." The scout said again. "They're curing the genophage. They're going to make it all better! They have to keep doing the tests!"

"Caution, Shepard." Mordin muttered to her. "Patient unstable, susceptible. Brainwashed."

"Why do you want them to keep doing the tests?" she said to the scout.

"This is my fault. I got caught. Wasn't strong enough, not good enough. This is the best I can do. This is all I can do. I'm not big enough to have a real shot with the females. I'll never have kids of my own. But if I helped undo the genophage, then I mattered!"

Shepard's face got serious. "You've got a bruised ego! You got caught and beaten, so you tell yourself it was for something important." She said, stepping towards the krogan on the floor and kneeling in front of him to make eye contact.

"That's not true! I need to stay! They're gonna cure us all!"

"You're not a real krogan." She sneered. "When a real krogan gets knocked down, he gets back up!"

"I did! I got back up every time they hit me! So many times…"

"You're lying there right now like a vorcha grubbing in the mud. You gonna just lie there, vorcha?" she jeered at the scout.

"Screw you, human! Nobody says that to me! Nobody keeps me down!" the krogan barked, getting up.

Shepard stood as well. "Damn right they don't! Now get back to Clan Urdnot and report in! Go, go!" she ordered.

"Rah!" the krogan bellowed, then stormed out of the room. The squad watched him leave, then Garrus commented.

"There's no pep talk like a military pep talk."

Shepard smirked slightly. _'Damn right.'_

They walked to the next door, and before Shepard opened it, EDI's voice came on over their comms.

"Shepard, I'm detecting crates ahead that are holding unstable materials. A misplaced shot could cause a significant explosion."

"Or a well-placed shot. Explosives useful. Burn through krogan armor." Mordin commented.

They advanced through the door and immediately, the firefight started as two vorcha across the room from them began shooting. Shepard made quick work of one with a headshot from her Widow, while Mordin froze the other with a cryo blast and Garrus smashed it. They turned their attentions to the two krogan moving toward them, one firing a blast at Shepard, who ducked it. A few shots from the Widow burned right through its armor, and her squadmates finished him off as she fired at the other krogan coming across the bridge. A well-placed headshot went right through his armor and a third of his health, and one more shot did the trick. Another krogan came after that one, and the marine switched to her Vindicator assault rifle, firing at the explosive crate behind the krogan. They finished him off quickly and moved ahead, down the stairs and into more gunfire, as another Blood Pack krogan came out with a pair of varren, and charged into Mordin. Incinerate, concussive shots, cryo blasts and incendiary ammo, and the team kept moving. More Blood Pack warriors, and some varren, then the thundering voice of the clan leader.

"Tremble and die, offworld scum! I am Weyrloc Guld, Chief of Chiefs!"

Shepard ducked back into cover before the varren could flank her. A pair of krogan closed in on them, but some incineration blasts and concussive shots did the trick. Weyrloc Guld closed in behind them, and blasted Shepard with his biotics. She pulled back and switched to her heavy pistol, as her trusty assault rifle was out of clips, and blasted him with bullets and concussive shots. He fell momentarily, and the team moved ahead. They headed downstairs until they found the room where Maelon was being held. Only, he didn't look like he was being held.

"Maelon. Alive. Unharmed." Mordin said, surprised. The other salarian glanced at him over his shoulder. The group walked up to him. "No signs of restraint. No evidence of torture. Don't understand."

"For such a smart man, Professor, you always had trouble seeing evidence that disagreed with your preconceptions." Maelon spoke up, turning to Mordin. "How long will it take you to admit that I'm here because I wish to be here?"

"He wasn't kidnapped. He came here voluntarily to cure the genophage." The salarian nodded at the commander's words.

"Impossible. Whole team agreed! Project necessary!" Mordin interjected.

"How was I supposed to disagree with the great Doctor Solus? I was your student! I looked up to you!" Maelon yelled.

"Experiments performed here. Live subjects! Prisoners! Torture and executions! Your doing?" Mordin yelled back.

"We've already got the blood of millions on our hands, Doctor. If it takes a bit more to put things right, I can deal with that."

"We're shutting your lab down, Maelon." Shepard said sternly.

"Shutting down more than that." Mordin added.

"You can't face the truth, can you?" Maelon yelled, pulling a gun on the three and frantically pointed at them one after the other. "Can't admit that your brilliant mind led you to commit an atrocity!" He was cut off when Mordin threw a solid punch at him, knocking him into the computer behind him. Shepard was impressed. It wasn't very often you met a salarian who could throw a decent punch.

"Unacceptable experiments. Unacceptable goals. Won't change. No choice, have to kill you." Mordin said, pushing his student against the wall and putting a pistol to his head.

"Wait." Shepard interrupted. "You don't need to do this Mordin. You're not a murderer."

"No. Not a murderer. Thank you, Shepard." Mordin muttered as he closed his eyes and stepped away from the cowering salarian. "Finished, Maelon." He said, putting his pistol back under his lab coat. "Get out. No Weyrloc left. Project over."

"You heard the professor. Get out before he changes his mind." Shepard added.

"Where am I supposed to go, Professor?" Maelon screeched.

"Don't care. Try Omega. Can always use another clinic." Mordin shrugged.

"The krogan didn't deserve what we did to them, Professor. The genophage needs to end." Maelon said, walking off.

Mordin turned to the console. "Not like this." He said, staring at the screen. "Apologies, Commander. Misunderstood mission parameters. No kidnapping. My mistake. Thank you."

"Don't worry about me, Mordin. How are you doing?"

"Should have killed him. Wanted to. Easier than listening. Easier for him, too. Experiments indicate how far he's fallen. Expected it from krogan. Not one of mine."

"Maybe you'll remember that the next time you're discussing the ethics of the genophage."

"Yes. So many variables. Stress responses. Impossible to truly predict. Something to think about." He turned to Shepard. "Maelon's research. Only loose end. Could destroy it. Closure, security. Still valuable, though."

"This is the research that included tests on living victims. It's tainted."

"Right now, victims died or nothing. Keep it, use it, deaths worth something. Maelon's work could cure genophage. Don't know. Effects on krogan. Effects on galaxy. Too many variable. Too many variables!"

"You regret what the krogan have become. You see the horror of what they did here, but you see the loss, too."

"Wasted potential."

"They don't deserve this, Mordin. Save the data."

"Point taken, Shepard. Capturing data, wiping local copy." The computer beeped as the data was erased. "Still years away from cure. But closer than starting from scratch. Done. Ready to go. Ready to be off Tuchanka. Anywhere else. Maybe somewhere sunny." The salarian said, turning to his CO.

"Let's get out of here." She nodded and they headed out of the Weyrloc base.

* * *

Back at Urdnot, Shepard went to find the chief scout. EDI piped up over the comms again.

"Clan Urdnot has increased in strength after the destruction of Clan Weyrloc. Based on population profiles, Clan Urdnot has adopted surviving members of Clan Weyrloc. Mostly women and children."

"Ah, intelligent move. Surprising from krogan. Glad to see it." Mordin commented. Shepard went up to the chief scout, Urz following them.

"My scout made it back." The chief said, turning to her. "We've got him at the tent. Doesn't remember much beyond getting tortured, but he remembers you. Said you yelled at him until he got his hump out of that base and back here. You've got a quad, human. Thanks for saving my scout. Saves me having to train another one." He said appreciatively.

"Talk to you later." The human said.

"Don't know about the rest of your species, but you're good in my books, human." The chief scout turned back to the guns and the squad went into the lab across from the krogan mechanic fixing a truck.

"Should you be in here?" the krogan scientist called as Shepard walked up to him. "As I understand it, Clan Urdnot has a new member." He said, turning to the squad. "You're the krantt for the new warrior, hmm? The shaman gave you the customary upgrades, I assume?" Shepard nodded. "He's fast to pass off my work as his reward. Use them well; the lord high researcher for Clan Urdnot has no time to make replacements! But, perhaps I can offer a discount."

"You must be working on something important."

"I was building the biggest, best offensive ordnance yet. A real ground-pounder!" Fortack said enthusiastically. "But the new clan leader wastes my time with frivolous research." He continued, a bit annoyed, turning to the pyjaks in the holding cells. "Crop genetics, medicinal improvements. We can buy that stuff from the salarians!"

"Salarians created genophage. I've heard." Mordin piped up nervously. "Still trust them with medicines and agriculture?"

"Yeah." Fortack turned back to the squad. "What else can the salarians do to us at this point? It's not like they can make us even more infertile. Actually, wait. Forget I said anything."

"Enjoy your research." The commander said, turning away.

"Yes, yes. Move along." The krogan turned back to his work. She bought some upgrades from the kiosk, then went outside back to the mechanic. He spoke up as she approached him.

"Do I look like I have time to talk? I've got work to do. Those fools brought this tomkah back from a skirmish without its combustion manifold. They say it got shot off in the field. You tell me: how can you expect a tomkah to run without a combustion manifold?"

"I've never seen a krogan mechanic before."

"What, you think we kidnap quarians and make them do the 'hard work?' Not anymore, we don't."

"I found a combustion manifold out in the field. Is this what you need?"

The mechanic turned to her. "That'll work. Faster than building one from scratch, at least. You just saved me three days' work, human. You've earned my time, if you want it."

"How do you feel about what Wrex is trying to do?"

"The old man's crazy, if you ask me. Which you just did. But that stuff fixes itself. If it doesn't work, Wrex gets torn to shreds, and we find out who's got the next best plan."

"Let me get out of your way."

"Don't do me any favors." The mechanic went back to work. Shepard headed back to the Normandy. It had been a long day.


	4. Chapter 4

**_For_ _anyone curious, the song referenced later in this chapter is The Night by Voltaire._**

 ** _Enjoy! ^_^_**

* * *

Chapter Four – The Collector Ship

"So, how was your mission on Tuchanka?"

Star was sitting on the sick bed in the tech lab, watching Mordin work. She had been frequenting the lab since her 'checkup' and eventually, the salarian got used to her presence. Or got tired of chasing her away. Either or.

"Still hard to believe Maelon betrayed me. Betrayed my work." He answered, not looking up from his console. "Disgusted by his actions." He drew in a breath and smiled. "Proud of his nerve, though. Always thought he lacked backbone. Hope he finds something new. Better goal, better purpose. Fewer torture tests."

"You're awfully calm about this. You'd think it wasn't that big a deal after the way you were carrying on earlier." The merc said flatly.

"Can't change what happened. Life continues. Back to mission, back to work. Become like Maelon otherwise. Salarian emotional processing faster than other species. Has to be. Short-lived culture. Can't spend time reminiscing."

Star hummed in thought. "So you're okay with what went down back there?"

"Yes, correct. Now, at least." He shrugged. "Greatly distressed at time. Stages of grief. Loss, anger, rationalization. Dealt with it. Most issues settled on Tuchanka. Some on shuttle back to Normandy."

"Wish I could do that. Almost sounds like salarians don't feel a thing." She mused, swinging her legs. "Must be nice."

Mordin looked up at her. "Salarians still feel, just resolve it quickly. Explains lack of marriage. Can't sustain courtship emotions. Or perhaps based on reproduction. Unsure."

"What about the work Maelon did? Did he make progress on a cure?" She didn't bother asking about how salarians reproduced. The last time she did Mordin physically threw her out of the lab. Well, he pushed her out, while chattering on about how he hadn't the time to explain the nuances, but she got the idea.

"What about it? Have it over there somewhere." The scientist pointed over his shoulder, not looking away from his console. "Not dealing with it now. Need to focus on Collectors." He paused and looked up. "Not important now, regardless." He added, then resumed his work. "Should get back to work. Wasted enough time already. Lots to do. Talk later?"

Star nodded and slid from the bed. She watched him work for a second, pondering their conversation, before heading back to the elevator. After what seemed like an eternity, the elevator doors opened and the merc stepped out on the crew deck, heading straight for Life Support. She had been to see Thane several times between missions as well, and found she enjoyed talking to him. It was as if every word he said was fascinating, every motion he made intriguing. Star shook her head. _'What is it with you and aliens?'_ she asked herself as the doors hissed open. The drell was sitting in his usual spot, with a steaming mug in front of him, meditating. Star walked up to him.

"Do you need something?" he greeted her, as he always did.

"Got a few minutes?"

"Certainly." He said, as she sat across from him. His face softened from its usual stoic look, she noticed it did recently the more they talked, and was replaced by a worried expression. "I was hoping to talk to you, actually. But now that you're here, it seems more difficult to talk about."

"Is everything alright? You're not going to keel over and die now, are you?"

"No, nothing like that. But I suppose that's part of it. My mortality has me… dwelling on things." The assassin leaned forward, dropping his voice. Star noticed a familiar look in his features, the one that she noticed the first time she spoke with him, lingering distraught. "I had a family once. I still have a son. His name is Kolyat. I haven't seen him in a very long time."

"How long has it been?"

"Ten years." Star's eyebrows raised.

"Did something happen to them?"

"I abandoned them." He noticed her quirked brow and his gaze fell. "Oh, not all at once. Nothing dramatic. No sneaking out in the middle of the night. No final argument or slammed door. I just… did my job. I hunted and killed across the galaxy. 'Away on business,' my wife would tell people. I was always away on business." He said solemnly, meeting Star's gaze. Her eyes were soft and deep, pools of dark red, the color of blood. He felt comforted by her gaze somehow. Like he could tell her anything. Everything.

"That's not what I'd expected. Was that all you wanted to tell me?"

"That's not everything. I fear there may have been complications." The merc raised an eyebrow. "I used my contacts to trace Kolyat. He has become… disconnected. He does what his body wills."

"Disconnected?" Star's confused look did not falter.

"The body is not the true self. The soul is. Body and soul work as one in a Whole Person. When the soul is weakened by despair or fear, or the body is ill or injured, the individual is disconnected. No longer Whole." She contemplated his words.

"Why is Kolyat disconnected? Is he hurt?"

"Something happened that should not have. He knows where I've been, what I've done. I do not know his reasons, but he has gone to the Citadel. I fear the worst may happen."

"You think he might follow in your footsteps." It wasn't a question. The drell nodded.

"I want to stop him, to keep from this dark road I have travelled. It is not his place. But…" he trailed off, looking away. "…I am not sure how. If I go to the Citadel - if I find him, what will I say? What can I say? A few words will not fix the problems between us." Thane hung his head, closing his eyes. Star reached out and placed a hand on his shoulder. He looked up, huge dark eyes meeting soft red ones. Their unusual color never failed to intrigue him.

"He's your son, Thane. You have to try. Even if he hates you for leaving, you have to let him know that you still care for him. That you never stopped." She said softly, sweetly, rubbing his shoulder gently. Thane closed his eyes again. "I know how you feel. Trust me. I had someone I tried to protect from the dark path too."

"Family?" The drell asked, looking at her again. Now it was Star's turn to look sad. Her eyes fell.

"My sister."

Thane remained silent.

"During the time we were on Omega, I made sure she stayed out of my work life as much as possible. She didn't have powerful biotics, couldn't fire a gun, I didn't even let her leave the apartment in fear my enemies would find her…" the girl's voice trailed off and her hand slipped of the drell's shoulder to wipe her eyes. "But the Blue Suns, they lured me from my apartment and they… killed her."

Thane cupped her other hand in his. She looked up at him and smiled slightly. "Find your son, Thane." She whispered. The drell nodded, and watched her as she left. He took a deep breath, then called for EDI.

"Yes, Sere Krios?" came the synthetic's voice.

"Please tell Yeoman Chambers I wish to discuss an important matter with the Commander."

"Of course. Logging you out."

* * *

"The Illusive Man wishes to speak with you in the debriefing room, Commander." Kelly said as Shepard walked out of the elevator. She turned and headed there, wondering what the Cerberus boss could want now. After what went down at Horizon, she was getting less interested in what he had to say. The commander entered the room and walked up to the message terminal.

"Patching the Illusive Man through, Commander." Joker said over the intercom. Shepard stepped into the projection field as it scanned her. She saw the Illusive Man, lighting a cigarette in his usual place, standing in front of that giant star in the background of his space station. He drew on the cigarette, and acknowledged her.

"Shepard – we caught a break. I intercepted a distress call from a turian patrol. They stumbled on to a Collector ship beyond the Korlus system. The turians were wiped out, but not before they crippled the Collector vessel." He said, going back to his chair. "I need you to board that ship and get some hard data on the Collectors. Find us a way to get to their homeworld."

"Hard to imagine how a turian patrol could take out a Collector ship." The commander folded her arms and shifted her weight to one leg.

"Reports indicate the hull's intact, but all systems seem to be offline. They could be making repairs as we speak. I'm not saying it won't be dangerous, but we can't let an opportunity like this slip by."

"If they had a patrol out there, why aren't the turians sending a recon team in?" Shepard's skepticism grew by the second.

"They will, eventually. But I intercepted the transmissions. In the meantime, we're feeding them false reports. You're close enough that you can be in and out before the turians learn the truth."

"Are you sure this information's good?"

"Information is my weapon, Shepard. It's good." The Illusive Man replied sternly.

"Then send me the coordinates, and I'll take care of it."

"Already sent. Once you're aboard the ship, establish an uplink with EDI. She'll mine their data for information regarding the Omega 4 relay. Good luck, Shepard." He said, taking a draw on his cigarette and closing the comm link. The walls of the briefing room returned to view and Shepard heard Joker over the intercom.

"Coordinates punched in. Let's go find us a Collector ship."

* * *

Commander Shepard walked up to the bridge in full armor as the Normandy approached the Collector vessel.

"We have a visual on the Collector ship, Commander." Joker said.

"Very low emissions. Passive infrared temperatures suggest most systems are offline. Thrusters are cold." EDI stated over the intercom.

"That thing is massive." Joker marveled at the ship. "How the hell did the turians take it out?" The Normandy drew closer, flying above the ship.

"Ladar scans do not detect any hull breaches on the side facing us. I detect no mass effect field distortions. It appears the drive core is offline." EDI said.

"Rendezvous in 30 seconds, Commander. Good luck." The helmsman said as the commander headed to the shuttle bay. The Normandy pulled up beside the massive ship, search lights on the side. The shuttle bay doors opened and the Kodiak flew out, zooming to the entrance the Normandy's light was on. It parked beside the ship and Shepard's squad stepped out, all wearing breather masks.

"I love what they've done with the place." Garrus quipped as he looked around.

"Looks like an insect hive." Thane added.

"Penetrating scans have detected an access node to uplink with Collector data banks." EDI came in over their comms. "Marking location to your hard-suit computer." She said to Shepard. The squad moved out through the tunnels leading into the ship, and EDI spoke again, "Shepard. I have compared the ship's EM signature to known Collector profiles. It is the vessel you encountered on Horizon."

"Maybe the defense towers softened it for the turians." The commander responded.

"The missing colonists might be aboard. If they're still alive." Garrus added. They advanced ahead and came across some empty pods they'd seen before.

"The Collectors used these on Horizon." Thane mentioned.

"Horrible. Trapped in these pods. Completely at the mercy of the Collectors." Garrus responded. They moved on, and came across a pile of dead bodies.

"This looks bad." Said the turian as they approached to take a closer look.

"What – why are these here?" The drell asked.

"Must have been used for testing. I'd say these subjects didn't pass."

"They're dead. Nothing we can do. Keep moving." Shepard said, turning away from the pile of corpses. Garrus nodded. The ship gave Shepard an eerie feeling, as if something was watching her. She felt unnerved. They approached a control terminal and Shepard scanned it with her Omni-tool. She noticed the pod beside it, with something inside.

"That's a Collector." Garrus pointed out. "Were they experimenting on one of their own?"

"EDI, I'm uploading the data from this terminal. See if you can figure out what they were up to." Shepard said into her comm.

"Data received. Analyzing. The Collectors were running baseline genetic comparisons between their species and humanity." The AI replied as Shepard walked over to the pod.

"Are they looking for similarities?"

"I have no hypothesis on their motivations. All I have are the preliminary results. They reveal something remarkable. A quad-strand genetic structure, identical to traces collected from ancient ruins. Only one race is known to have this structure: the Protheans."

"My God. The Protheans didn't vanish. They're just working for the Reapers now." Shepard stepped back in shock.

"These are no longer Protheans, Shepard. Their genes show distinct signs of extensive genetic rewrite. The Reapers have repurposed them to suit their needs."

"You'd think somebody would have picked up on this."

"No one has had an opportunity to study a Collector genetic code in this detail. I've already matched two thousand alleles to recorded fragments. This Collector likely descends from a Prothean colony in the Styx Theta cluster. But there are signs of extreme alteration. Three fewer chromosomes. Reduced heterochromatin structure. Elimination of superfluous 'junk' sequences."

"The Reapers didn't wipe out the Protheans. They turned them into monsters and enslaved them." She said to her squad. "Still, they're working for the Reapers now. And we have to stop them."

"No species should have to suffer through that." Garrus shook his head.

"Let's find what we need before the Collectors come to salvage this vessel. Move out."

They moved ahead, picking up valuable materials, and found an area with pods along the ceiling.

"Look – on the ceiling. More of those strange pods." The turian called.

"There must be hundreds." Thane added. "How many are full?"

"Too many." Said the commander.

"I detect no signs of life in the pods, Shepard." EDI stated. "It is probable the victims died when the ship lost primary power." They moved ahead, upstairs and deeper into the ship, salvaging Collector tech as they went ahead. They could hear the occasional whirring somewhere in the recesses of the ship.

"Commander. You gotta hear this." Joker's voice popped up over the comms. "On a hunch, I asked EDI to run an analysis on this ship."

"I compared the EM profile against data recorded by the original Normandy two years ago. They are an exact match." The AI said.

"The same ship dogging me for two years? Way beyond coincidence."

"Something doesn't add up, Commander. Watch your back." Joker added before logging out. They kept moving up until they entered an opening and couldn't believe their eyes.

"This is unbelievable." Garrus said, awed at the sheer number of pods lining the walls of the ship.

"They could take every human in the Terminus Systems and not have enough to fill these pods. Thane said, equally awed.

"They're going to target Earth." The turian looked to Shepard.

"Not if we stop them."

They kept walking, Shepard glancing around at the pods. They lined the walls like the pattern of a beehive, held tightly together. She noticed a platform at the end of the hallway.

"There – on the platform. Looks like some kind of control panel." Garrus pointed with his rifle.

"Has anyone else wondered why we haven't seen any Collectors? Living or dead?" Thane vocalized the feeling of uneasiness Shepard had been feeling since they boarded. The ship was deserted, like a ghost town. Not one body, save for the one in the pod earlier. Shepard walked up to the command console.

"EDI, I'm setting up a bridge between you and the Collector ship. See if you can get anything useful from the data banks." She scanned the console and established the link.

"Data-mine in progress, Shepard." Back on the Normandy, Joker watched as EDI worked. Suddenly, the screens started to go out one at a time, and beside him, a red holo of the Collector General appeared where EDI's holo usually displayed.

"Uh, that can't be good."

A small shockwave pulsed through the platform Shepard was standing on and her squad watched as the catches on the platform started to release.

"What the hell just happened?" She yelled.

"Major power surge. Everything went dark, but we're back up now." The pilot said over the comm.

"I managed to divert the majority of the overload to non-critical systems." EDI added. Something stirred behind them, catching Garrus' attention. "Shepard, it was not a malfunction. This was a trap."

Another shockwave hit the platform and it began to rise and move away. The squad struggled to keep their balance.

"We need a little help here, EDI…"

"I am having trouble maintaining connection. There is someone else in the system." Came the response. The platform stopped suddenly, toppling Shepard and Garrus and knocking Thane over. Garrus helped the assassin back up as Shepard watched from the distance as another platform started moving towards them. This one, however, had company. The team drew their guns.

"Connection reestablished." EDI said. "I need to finish the download before I can override any systems."

"Then you'd better get it done fast, EDI." The commander said, taking a shot at one of the Collectors. As soon as the platform landed, the gunfire started, as another platform followed. The squad got into cover and returned fire, as EDI updated her progress.

"Forty-one percent complete."

"Come on, EDI. Speed it up." Shepard said, blasting a Collector full of bullets.

"Another platform coming in!" Thane yelled over the gunfire. One of the drones became possessed by Harbinger, and Thane hit it with a Warp field to drop its barriers. Shepard focused fire on Harbinger, her Inferno ammo burning through his armor. She then turned to the Scion who was launching cryo blasts at them. The other platform landed and the Collectors traded bullets with them before Shepard could finish off the Scion. She and Garrus launched Heavy Concussive shots at them, knocking them over. Another platform moved in and EDI chimed in again.

"Eighty-four percent."

"EDI! Get us out of here!"

"I am simultaneously fighting Collector firewalls in over 8,000 nodes. I am tasked to capacity."

"Here they come again!" Garrus yelled as Thane threw a Warp field at the new Scion that showed up. More Collectors, one with a heavy weapon and one possessed by Harbinger. Shepard took one out with a clean headshot from her Widow, then focused on the Scion, dealing with it quickly, then firing at Harbinger who was attempting to overwhelm Thane. They finished off the last Collector, and seeing no more platforms approaching, got out of cover.

"Shepard, you must manually reestablish my link to the command console." EDI said. The commander walked up to the console and bridged it to the Normandy, and EDI's blue holo popped up before her. "I have regained control of the platform, Shepard."

"I thought we were gonna have to take on every damn Collector here!"

"Perhaps you should consider upgrading my hardware." EDI's synthetic voice had a note of sarcasm. Her holo disappeared and reappeared in the Normandy.

"Did you get what we needed?" Shepard asked as the platform moved off.

"I found data that could help us successfully navigate the Omega 4 relay. I have also found the turian distress call that served as the lure for this trap. The Collectors were the source. It is unusual." She said, popping back up in front of Shepard.

"What are you getting at?"

"Turian emergency channels have secondary encryption. It is present, but corrupted in the message." EDI displayed the scans. "It is not possible that the Illusive Man would believe the distress call was genuine."

"Why are you so sure?"

"I found the anomaly with Cerberus detection protocols. He wrote them."

"He knew it was a trap? Why would he send us into a trap?" Joker turned to EDI's projection beside him.

"That son of a bitch sent us right into Collector hands." Shepard said, royally pissed.

"And here I thought I'd had my betrayal and attempted murder for this year." Garrus commented flatly.

"Uh, Commander? We've got another problem. The Collector ship is powering up." Joker said. "You need to get out before their weapons come online. I'm not losing another Normandy!"

"I do not have full control of their systems. I will do what I can. Sending coordinates for shuttle extraction." EDI added.

"Come on. Let's move!" the marine ordered. The team hurried off the platform and down the hallway.

"Around the corner. Take the door on your right." EDI said. They bolted through the door and down the corridor, Collectors flew down. The squad slid into cover and fired at the enemies, Shepard blasting them with her Widow before Harbinger showed up again. Thane hit him with a Warp field before he could start shooting. They finished him off and moved ahead into more Collectors, and Harbinger made another appearance. That was getting annoying. After they gunned them down, Shepard picked up some power cells and dropped thermal clips and advanced.

"I am opening a door on the far side of the room." EDI said as they walked into more enemies. A giant Praetorian hit Shepard before she could get into cover, ripping through her shields. Garrus and Thane shot the husks that ran into the room as Shepard got out her M-920 Cain and retreated to higher ground, then fired the nuke launcher. Although the Cain's blast caused the giant beast massive damage, it didn't help that the damn thing kept regenerating its barriers. Many bullets, concussive shots and Warp fields later, the huge monster finally fell and the squad moved to the door, which closed before they reached it.

"EDI? We've got a problem here."

"A temporary setback on Firewall 3217. Rerouting commands through Firewall 7164."

Why did EDI think Shepard cared about firewalls right now?

"I have successfully opened a door on the opposite wall. I will keep it open as long as I can." The squad stormed through the door and down the corridor.

"Down there." Garrus pointed. "That's where we came in."

"We must be getting close to the end." Thane said. They ran into more Collectors waiting for them, along with Harbinger. Some of the drones had heavy weapons, and a Scion came from around the corner. The team blasted their way through the Scion and bolted down the corridor.

"Uh, Commander? Hate to rush you, but those weapons are about to come online." Joker said. "Might wanna double-time it. You know, so we can leave before they blow the Normandy in half." The Commander sprinted across the hall, and found a group of husks headed towards her from around the corner. They made quick work of them before they could get flanked, Shepard finding use for her shotgun in the process, and made a break for it when they saw the shuttle ahead.

"We're out of time, Commander! We have to go!" Joker called.

"You heard the man – everybody onto the Normandy! Move!" Shepard ordered, blasting the incoming husks. They dashed into the shuttle and it shot into the Normandy as the Collector ship began to power up.

"Strap in, people – gonna make them work for it this time." Joker yelled as he pulled the Normandy away from the ship. Shepard ran up to the bridge as fast as she could and the Collector ship's main cannon began to power up. The laser fired at the frigate, and the Normandy shook from the sharp motions of its pilot's evasive maneuvers, Shepard holding onto Joker's seat to keep from falling over.

"I can't dodge this guy forever, EDI. Get us the hell out of here!"

"Specify a destination, Mr. Moreau."

"Anywhere that's not here!" Joker yelled, swinging the ship by another near miss.

"Very well. Engaging mass effect core." The Normandy hit FTL before the Collector ship could fire again, successfully evading them.

* * *

A while later, after everything was settled, Joker called the commander.

"Call coming in from the Illusive Man, Commander. Figure you've got a few words for him, too." Shepard walked into the briefing room and into the message terminal scanner.

"Shepard. Looks like EDI extracted some interesting data before the Collector ship came back online." The Illusive Man drew on his ever-present cigarette as Shepard's holograph formed before him.

"EDI told us the distress call originated from the Collectors. You betrayed us. Just like I knew you would." She used her 'pissed-off' voice again.

"We're at war. The Collectors are taking humans, and every minute we waste is one more we give the enemy to prepare."

"I know the stakes. But we're supposed to be on the same side, and I can't trust you."

"Without that information, we don't reach the Collector homeworld. And you and every other human may as well be dead." He said, standing. "It was a trap… but I was confident in your abilities. And don't forget EDI. The Collectors couldn't have anticipated her."

"You could have told me the plan. You say I'm important, but you sure try hard to get me killed."

"I needed the Collectors to believe they had the upper hand. Telling you could have tipped them off in any number of ways. Besides, I wouldn't have sent you in if I didn't think you could succeed."

"You have one job – information. If I can't trust your intel, you're useless to me."

"It's never that simple. You of all people should know that."

"I know that I'll be a lot more careful. With the Collectors, and with you."

"This is no time for petty grudges." The Cerberus leader sat back down. "Things are about to get a lot tougher. EDI confirmed our suspicions." He took another drag on the cigarette. "The Reapers and Collector ships use an advanced Identify Friend/Foe system that the relays recognize. All we need to do is get our hands on one of those IFFs."

"I was just on the Collector ship! Why didn't you say anything about finding their IFF?"

"As I said, EDI just confirmed it. Besides, you wouldn't have had time to find and extract it. But we have options. An Alliance science team recently determined that the 'Great Rift' on the planet Klendagon is actually an impact crater from a mass accelerator weapon." He swallowed the contents of his glass. "A very old mass accelerator. I sent a team to find either the weapon or its target. They found both. The weapon was defunct, but it helped us plot the flight path of the intended target – a 37 million year old derelict Reaper. We found it damaged and trapped in the gravity of a brown dwarf."

"I only believe you because I doubt you'd repeat yourself so soon."

"It's no less a risk, Shepard. We lost contact with Dr. Chandana's team shortly after they boarded. Initial reconnaissance revealed no clues, and it was too risky to commit more resources–"He drew on the cigarette. "-but now we need that IFF. I'll forward the coordinates to Joker. In the meantime… I suggest you tell your crew I didn't risk their lives unnecessarily. It will make things easier going forward."

"EDI – tell the crew to assemble." Shepard said, looking behind her. "We've got a lot to talk about."

"Of course, Shepard." Came the reply.

* * *

"So the Illusive Man didn't sell us out. Could've fooled me." Jacob said, leaning on the briefing room table.

"Lied to us. Used us. Needed access to Collector data banks. Necessary risk." Mordin added, pacing back and forth.

"He tries something like that again and the Collectors will be the least of his problems." Shepard said darkly. "EDI, are you sure this IFF is going to work?"

"My analysis is accurate, Shepard." The blue holo-orb said. "I have also determined the approximate location of the Collector homeworld based on navigational data from their vessel." EDI brought up the scans, pinpointing the location in the galactic core. Everyone stepped closer to see properly.

"That can't be right." Miranda spoke up.

"EDI doesn't make mistakes. The Collector homeworld is located somewhere in the galactic core." Shepard reaffirmed.

"Can't be" Jacob objected. "The core is just black holes and exploding suns. There are no habitable planets there."

"Could be an artificial construct." Mordin suggested. "Space station protected by powerful mass effect fields and radiation shields."

"Even the Collectors don't have that kind of technology." Miranda said, arms folded.

"The Collectors are just servants of our real enemies." The commander spoke. "And we've all seen what their masters are capable of. They built the mass relays and the Citadel. Who's to say they can't build a space station surrounded by black holes? No wonder nobody's ever returned from a trip through the Omega 4 mass relay."

"The logical conclusion is that a small safe zone exists on the far side of the relay. A region where ships can survive." EDI piped up. "Standard relay transit protocols would not allow safe transport. Drift of several thousand kilometers is common, and would be fatal in the galactic core. The Reaper IFF must trigger the relay to use more advanced, encrypted protocols."

"Just because we can follow the Collectors through the relay doesn't mean we can take them out. I don't want to go after them until I know we're ready."

"Sooner or later we need that IFF. I say, why wait?" Jacob said.

"It's a derelict Reaper. What if the Collectors are waiting for us? We may want to build up our team before we take that kind of risk." Miranda said.

"The more people we have on our side, the better our chances of success. We need to keep building the team."

"It's your call, Commander. Whatever you decide, we're with you." Jacob said before saluting and leaving the room, followed by Miranda and Mordin.

* * *

Star wandered into the tech lab, where Mordin was apparently very busy, if his fingers typing in a flurry on his console was anything to go by. She assumed her seat on the sick bed and leaned forward, swinging her legs.

"What're you working on, Mordin?"

The scientist salarian looked up. "Made breakthrough. Can share results while next samples grow. Hate waiting for culture analysis. Never fast enough. Usually know result in advance. Just checking work. Have to be careful." He said, holding up his hands. "Getting off track. Discovery. Based on Prothean-Collector connection, can examine technology, chart Reaper species modification. Fall of Protheans."

Star cocked her head, intrigued. "I'm listening."

"Early stages similar to indoctrination. Can guess captured Protheans lost intelligence over several cloned generations. Cybernetic augmentation widespread afterward. As Protheans failed, Reapers added tech to compensate." The salarian stroked his chin thoughtfully. "Mental capacity almost gone, replaced by overworked sensory input, transfers. Transmitting data to masters." He drew a deep breath.

"Could they be re-converted somehow? Turned back to Protheans?"

"No! No glands, replaced by tech. No digestive system, replaced by tech. No soul. Replaced by tech. Whatever they were, gone forever. Understand now? No art, no culture. Closer to husks than slaves. Tools for Reapers. Protheans dead. Collectors just final insult. Must be destroyed."

"Never thought we needed any more motivation to blow up the Collectors."

"Enjoyed challenge. Saw necessity of attack on Collectors after plague on Omega. Their work, my people. Hard to care about two armies. One wins, one loses. Always work to do after. Now have more context. See what Collectors are. Committed fully to mission now. Won't let Shepard down."

Star hummed in thought. Talking to Mordin always made her think. She loved science, and now that she had the chance to make a scientist friend, she was gonna milk it for all it was worth. "Why do the Collectors' modifications bother you so much?"

"Disrupts socio-technological balance! All scientific advancement due to intelligence overcoming, compensating for limitations. Can't carry a load, so invent wheel. Can't catch food, so invent spear. Limitations! No limitations, no advancement. No advancement, culture stagnates!"

"Necessity is the mother of invention."

"Exactly! Works other way, too. Advancements before culture is ready disastrous. Saw it with krogan. Uplifted by salarians. Disastrous. Our fault." Star remembered reading the article in the galactic codex about the history of the krogan. One particular part mentioned that after the krogan developed gunpowder weapons, the number one cause of krogan death moved from 'eaten by predators' to 'death by gunshot'.

"You blame the salarians for the Krogan Rebellions?"

"Yes. Like giving nuclear weapons to cave men. Krogan unprepared for spaceflight, technological advance. Krogan could have evolved alone. Worked out aggression. Been ready to use new tech responsibly. Instead, salarians came. Disrupted krogan culture. Used krogan as blunt instrument against rachni. Shortsighted. Foolish."

"Then why'd you modify the genophage?"

"Best option. That or kill them all. If around during first contact, would've argued against it. Wasn't there then. Do what I can now."

Star nodded. "You said the Collectors had no culture or art. Didn't think you'd care about that."

"Personal interest negligible." Mordin shrugged. "Sang a little. Multispecies productions for cultural exploration. Gilbert and Sullivan. Always had me do the patter songs."

Star's eyebrows raised.

"But not about me. Cultural artistic expression reflects philosophical evolution, interest in growth, perspective, observation, interpretation. Suspect we won't see any art in Collector base. Culturally dead. Tools for Reapers. Worse than the geth."

Star's surprised expression was still stuck on her face, causing Mordin to give her a questioning look. "I'm sorry, I know that was important but… you sang? You can sing?"

The salarian smiled, nodded and, seeing Star's disbelief, began to sing.

 _"I am the very model of a scientist salarian_  
 _I've studied species turian, asari and batarian._  
 _I'm quite good at genetics (as a subset of biology)_  
 _because I am an expert (which I know is a tautology.)_  
 _My xenoscience studies range from urban to agrarian_  
 _I am the very model of a scientist salarian."_

Mordin walked back to his desk, noticing Star staring at him. He cleared his throat awkwardly.

To his surprise (and subsequent relief), the girl slid from her perch and gave him a standing ovation. He beamed.

"You and I have more in common than I thought." She said, smiling.

"You enjoy singing as well?"

"Picked it up while I was on Omega. I sang when I had nothing better to do. The music soothed my soul." Star closed her eyes, reminiscing. Mordin nodded.

"Music is nourishment for the soul. Need some form of art in life." The doctor paused, then added, with nervousness in his voice, "Mind sharing a song you like?"

Star hesitated, thinking of a song to share with her alien friend. She smiled, and began to sing.

 _"It just seems very strange to me_  
 _Night, her quiet, lonely streets._  
 _And draped in all her mystery_  
 _could be so sweet and comforting."_

Mordin closed his eyes as he listened to Star sing the verse. When he looked at her again, her gaze had wandered off in thought. "You were… alone on Omega?" he asked.

"For a while, yes." Her gaze shifted back to him.

"Can hear grief behind your words. Lost direction. Lost purpose. Considered ending your life. Can hear it all." Mordin gave her a solemn look.

Could he really tell all that from one verse? _'I should've picked a happy song.'_

"I should leave you to your work now."

"Will be here if you need me." The salarian returned to his console. The girl started for the door.

"And Star?"

She turned to him. "Yes?"

"Reconsider. Would hate to see such potential wasted."

She smiled and nodded, then left.

* * *

"How may I help you, Commander?"

"Is there anything I should know?"

"You have unread messages at your private terminal. Garrus received some news that put fire in his eyes. Maybe you should speak with him down in the main battery. Thane would like to speak with you in Life Support on the crew deck. Star would like to see you down in engineering. Tali seems very distraught after receiving a message. Maybe you could check on her down in engineering. Samara would like to see you in Observation on the crew deck. Anything else, Commander?"

"That'll be all."

"I'll be here if you need anything."

Shepard walked into the elevator and pushed the button for Engineering. When the doors reopened, she headed down to the lower section, and found Star lying on her cot, staring at her Omni-tool.

"Shepard." She said as the marine approached her. "I need to talk to you. It's important."

"So I've been told. What is it?"

Star got up and walked towards the staircase, motioning the commander to follow her. She perched on the top of the stairs. "Remember our conversation when I first came aboard? You asked what the Blue Suns took from me."

"I remember. You called it 'purpose'."

"Yeah, well, that 'purpose' was the only family I had left. My twin sister." Star leaned forward, cupping her hands. "We grew up on a colony, after it got attacked we never left each other's sides. We only had each other. When we moved to Omega, I tried to keep her hidden. It worked, for a while. Until the Blue Suns found out where I lived. Lured me away, then went there to set up an ambush. Found my sister instead. You can guess what happened next."

"How did the Blue Suns manage to find your apartment?"

"They hired looters to keep a lookout. It was just before the plague started to set in. They thought I might try to take over one of their districts."

"They lured you away?"

"The lieutenant that hired me for a job that day, Kardesh, was the one who tried to enlist me before. It was a simple find-and-retrieve mission, but he was willing to fork over a lot of credits. I needed the money, so I took the job. Came back home to a dead body."

"Is that all you wanted to say?" Shepard folded her arms. Star shook her head.

"After a while, I tracked them down. All of them, from the looters who ratted me out, to the grunts who pulled the trigger, to the lieutenant who set me up. Killed them all. Kardesh was begging for his life, said he would tell me who really ordered the attack. Blew his brains out after he coughed up the name. After that, I did some research and found out the bastard had fled Omega. So I turned to Aria for help. She said she'd track him down if I worked for her in return. Then you found me."

"Who was it?"

"One of their highest ranking officials, Ganorn. He was running the operations for the Blue Suns on Omega before Tarak took over, when they were trying to get Archangel. They weren't too happy when he suddenly quit."

Shepard shifted her weight. "So where is he?"

"Aria just sent me the info. He apparently fled to Illium, and got involved with Eclipse. He's been keeping a low profile, but now he's back in the merc business." Star rose and walked to Shepard, dropping her voice. "Shepard, this is the man who took everything from me. He's the last loose end. I'm asking for a ride to Illium, that's all. You don't even have to help, I'll handle it myself." She pleaded.

"We're a team, and that means we're in this together. I'll tell Joker to plot a course for Illium."

"Thank you, Shepard. I owe you big time for this." The merc smiled and went back to her cot. Shepard went upstairs to go see Tali.

* * *

Shepard, Star and Miranda stepped into the Nos Astra docking bay on Illium. As they moved away from the transport terminal, EDI's voice came in through the comms.

"I have accessed many records of the Blue Suns commander in Eclipse data files, however I am unable to pinpoint his location. Liara T'Soni may be able to provide assistance."

"Thanks, EDI." Star responded as they headed into the trading floor and upstairs to administration, where Liara's office was.

"Shepard! It's good to see you again." The asari greeted. Shepard sat down. "Did you need help finding anything?"

"I'm looking for someone called Ganorn. I hear he's working for Eclipse."

"Ah, the ex- Blue Suns commander. Last I heard he'd begun to cut ties with Eclipse, planning to leave."

"He likes running from his problems." Star muttered.

"Unfortunately for him, one of the Eclipse captains has him flagged. He can't leave without them knowing, no matter how hard he tries. So now he's hiding out in an old pre-fab factory warehouse in the lower levels." Liara said. Shepard nodded.

"Thanks Liara. I'll talk to you later." The commander said as she got up.

"You can take a sky-car down to the warehouse." Liara called after her as they left. They headed to the shipping floor and hailed a cab to the lower sections of Nos Astra, the warehouse district. As they drove past the warehouses, Star pointed out the factory.

"Look, there it is." Shepard looked out the window.

"There are Eclipse mercs down there. I thought he cut ties to them."

"Maybe he's paying them to protect him. People will do anything for enough credits." Miranda suggested. Star shrugged.

"I don't give a damn what they're here for. I'm here for Ganorn, and if they stand in my way, I'll kill them too." The cab landed near the warehouse. Shepard paid the fare and the squad filed out and walked up to the warehouse. Two Eclipse troopers came up to them.

"What business do you have here?" one of then demanded.

"We're here to see Ganorn. We have business with him." Shepard responded.

"You're with Aeris!" the other merc yelled, pulling his gun. Shepard and her squad pulled theirs.

"Don't try anything cute if you wanna keep your heads intact. We only want the old man." Star growled. The mercs backed away at her threat and Shepard's intimidating stare. They ran inside the warehouse.

"They've alerted the others. Be ready for a fight." Miranda said as they walked into the warehouse. Gunshots immediately rang out and the squad ducked behind some crates, returning fire. One of the Eclipse engineers deployed a combat drone that headed straight for Star, and she kept it at bay with her foot until she could put a bullet through the merc that sent it out. After those troopers were dead, the squad advanced, traversing the maze of crates everywhere. Some of them had explosive materials, which Shepard found out after she shot one that two mercs were hiding behind, blowing them to eternity. They kept moving, shooting the incoming mercs, ducking biotic blasts and tech attacks from the asari vanguards and salarian engineers. Eventually, they came to a small supply room, and Shepard took the moment to talk to Star.

"Did you know Ganorn?"

"I saw him a few times. Blew up a shuttle carrying some equipment for him once." She replied, reloading her shotgun. "Since he was the territory leader, I caused him the most trouble. Probably why he wanted me dead. But I'm not in the mood to play nice with him now. I'm not leaving Nos Astra until I mount his head on a wall."

"You seem to be taking this more personally than I thought." The commander folded her arms.

Star leaned against a table. "The man stole the last of my family from me, Shepard. How much more personal do you think it'll get? S-Star was all I had left, and I swore to protect her. I failed, and now I'm paying the price. But the bastard who killed her has to pay, too."

"Her name was 'Star' too?" Shepard raised an eyebrow.

"'Star' was a nickname we shared. So we used our first initials to differentiate. I was R-Star, she was S-Star." She paused, then added solemnly, "Now there's only one."

"When you find him and kill him, what will you do?"

"I'll finish your mission, for starters. I'm not entirely sure what I'll do after that, provided I survive. I'll worry about it when it happens."

"Do you really think killing Ganorn will make things right?"

"I have to do this, Shepard. I refuse to let him live with the satisfaction that he got to me. I need to make sure he doesn't live long enough to regret it. Please don't try to change my mind." Star said, resolute, and the commander shook her head and signaled them to move out.

They exited the room through the other side, and were met with another group of Eclipse mercs. Miranda and Star paired up their biotics, using Warp and Throw combined, and Shepard threw in a healthy dose of concussive shots. Those mercs didn't stand a chance. Suddenly, an YMIR mech dropped down from the office at the top of the warehouse, blocking the elevator, the only way up there. Star guessed that was where her mark was hiding. Miranda overloaded the mech's shields as Star warped its armor, Shepard pummeling it with bullets. The mech responded with its own guns, blasting a rocket at the closet person every once in a while. But even it was no match for Shepard's squad, and they finally blew the mech into a searing heap of scrap metal. Shepard called for the elevator and they rode up to the office.

Ganorn was in a panic. Those intruders cleared his mercs like they were cockroaches, and he was sure they were from Aeris now. He heard a gunshot ring out just outside the door, then said door slid open and Shepard and her crew stepped into the office.

"What do you want with me?" Ganorn demanded, trying to sound tough.

"My associate here would like a few words." Shepard said, gesturing to Star. "I believe you've been previously acquainted."

The older man squinted. "What are you talking about, I've never seen that kid in my life!"

Star scoffed. "Oh come, come now, Garn, don't go senile on me just yet." She hissed, stepping up to him and making the man back up against the wall.

Only one person had ever called him 'Garn'. "Wait, Star? The freelancing pain-in-my-ass from Omega? I thought Kardesh killed you!"

"Oh, he did. Killed me dead." Star said, pulling her sidearm. "So I returned the favor. Now it's your turn." Ganorn held up his arms quickly.

"Wait, kid! Don't kill me! I'll pay you, if that's what you want." He was near groveling at this point. It disgusted Star, and her body flared with blue aura. "You'll have more credits than you can imagine! Please, just let me go!"

"Keep your damn credits. The only price I came to collect was your head." She said, using her biotics to throw him against a wall, then grabbed him by the collar and held her gun to his face.

"Star, you don't have to do this." Shepard put a hand on Star's shoulder.

"Too late for that, Shepard. I've already made up my mind." She replied dryly.

Shepard went to continue, but the man interrupted. "Look, I'm going to die anyways! If you don't kill me then that damned asari will!"

"Not my problem." Star cocked her pistol. "This is for my sister." The echo of the gunshot resounded through the warehouse, and the corpse slid down the wall, leaving a trail of blood and settling in a heap at the mercenary's feet. Star took a deep breath and leaned her head back.

"It's finally over." She sighed and closed her eyes.

"Are you okay?" Shepard asked, stepping closer to her.

Star turned to the commander, a forced yet contented smile on her face. "I'm good. Feels like a load off my chest. A load I've been carrying for far too long." The commander nodded and the squad headed to the elevator. When they got down to the main floor, they noticed a group of Eclipse mercs headed straight for them, led by a very angry-looking asari commando, with her biotics flaring.

"Where's Ganorn?" she demanded.

"Who are you?" Shepard asked. The asari folded her arms.

"My name is Aeris, Eclipse Captain. I have no business with you, unless you work for the slimy bastard hiding here."

"The slimy bastard is dead." Star piped up, stepping forward. "You're not the only person he pissed off."

"He owed me a lot of credits." Aeris said, turning to her. "I guess I'll just have to collect from you." The asari and her mercs pulled their guns.

"Not a chance." Shepard responded, her squad pulling their guns as well. Star threw a Warp field at the commando before she and the squad dived into cover as the mercs opened fire. Aeris' barriers were strong, but enough Warps from Star and Miranda soon changed that. They focused on the mercs deploying combat drones on the field and Shepard took some out with clean headshots from her Widow. Star switched to her Viper and focused on the asari firing biotics at her CO, taking her down in minutes. They finished off the stragglers and headed out, back to the skycar.

* * *

Back on the Normandy, after completing Star's and Miranda's loyalty missions, Shepard headed down to the Engineering sub-deck in search of the merc, who was lying on her cot, staring at the ceiling.

"Need something, Shepard?" She said dryly as the marine approached her.

"Have a few minutes to talk?"

Star got up and headed to the staircase as usual. Shepard followed her. "Thanks for helping me find Ganorn, Commander." She took a deep breath. "I can die in peace now."

"Have you thought about what you'll do after the mission?"

The merc sat on the stairs. "A little. I might go back to Omega, do what I do best. See what happens." She chuckled. "It's going to be lonely there for me, now that S-Star's gone."

"Tell me about your sister."

"Not much to tell. She was my twin, but we looked nothing alike. The kid had green eyes, and pink hair, believe it or not. She was an absolute sweetheart, the complete opposite of me. The Alpha to my Omega." Star leaned forward, hanging her head. "She wasn't cut out for the life I lived. So I protected her. I've been protecting her since we were kids."

"How did you two end up on Omega?"

"Our colony on Mobius got attacked by batarian slavers when I was seven. They killed our parents and took us. I kept her hidden on the ship so she wouldn't get sold. We were on that ship until we were fourteen, then we managed to escape onto the Citadel. We didn't stay long. I high-jacked a passenger ship and we ended up on Omega."

"How did you manage to stay on the slavers' ship for so long?" the commander folded her arms.

"I helped the captain run an extortion racket. Every time he sold me off, I'd sneak back on the ship and they'd make off with the credits. It kept me alive so I wasn't in a position to complain."

"You mentioned before that 'Star' was a shared nickname between you and your sister. So what's your actual name?"

The mercenary chuckled lightly. "Maybe I'll tell you, Shepard. One day. For now, just 'Star' is fine."

"I want you focused on the mission. No more distractions." Shepard said sternly. Star rose to her feet and saluted.

"Aye-aye, Commander!" she chuckled. "Don't worry, Shepard. I'm one hundred percent focused on kicking the Collectors' asses."

The marine nodded. "I should go."

"I'll be down here." The mercenary returned to her cot. Shepard got in the elevator and hit the button for the crew deck. She got out and headed to the Main Battery, pausing to listen to the crew's conversation. The battery doors hissed open and the turian inside turned around.

"Shepard. Need me for something?"

"Have you got a minute?"

"Sure. Just killing time, anyways. I wanted to thank you again for your help with Sidonis. Whatever happens with the Collectors or the Reapers or whoever else comes after us, I know you'll get the job done."

"You actually think we'll find something worse than Collectors or Reapers?"

"I like to expect the worst. There's a small chance I'll be pleasantly surprised." Garrus flashed the turian equivalent of a grin.

"I couldn't do this without you, Garrus." Shepard smiled, putting her hands behind her.

"Sure you could. Not as stylishly, of course." He gestured the human to sit on a crate beside the door. "It's strange going into a suicide mission on a human ship. Your people don't prepare for high-risk missions the way turians do." He said as she sat.

Shepard leaned forward. "I thought you'd be used to high-risk operations on human ships. I mean, think about tracking Saren to Ilos."

"Sure, but that was quick. We raced out, landed, blew up some geth, and saved the galaxy. This time we've got Miranda and Cerberus and that AI all telling us what we're up against. I think I preferred blind optimism." He shook his head.

"Honestly, Garrus, what do you think our chances are?"

"Honestly? The Collectors killed you once, and all it did is piss you off. I can't imagine they'll stop you this time. But an unmapped area, advanced technology, and the Collectors? We're going to lose people. No way around that." He said, shaking his head again. "Not a happy analysis, I know. Don't worry, I won't spread it around. And I'm with you, regardless."

"Do you ever regret leaving C-Sec or the turian military?"

"Not for a minute. When it comes down to it, Shepard, I don't think I'm a very good turian." Shepard raised an eyebrow. "When a good turian hears a bad order, he follows it. He might complain but he knows his place. I just don't see the point in staying quiet and polite. Not when the galaxy is at stake."

"How do turian crews get ready for high-risk missions?"

"With violence, usually." Garrus put his hands behind his back. "Turian ships have more operational discipline than your Alliance, but fewer personal restrictions. Our commanders run us tight, and they know we need to blow off steam. Turian ships have training rooms for exercise, combat sims, even full-contact sparring. Whatever lets people work off stress."

"You mean turian ships have crewmen fighting each other before a mission?"

"It's supervised, of course. Nobody is going to risk an injury that interferes with the mission. And it's a good way to settle grudges amicably. I remember right before one mission, we were about to hit a batarian pirate squad. Very risky. This recon scout and I had been at each other's throats. Nerves, mostly. She suggested we settle it in the ring." He recalled, pacing the battery floor.

"I assume you took her down gently?"

"Actually, she and I were the top ranked hand-to-hand specialists on the ship. I had reach, but she had flexibility. It was brutal. After nine rounds, the judge called it a draw. There were a lot of unhappy betters in the training room." He walked the floor again, stopping faced away from the human and dropping his voice. "We, ah, ended up holding a tiebreaker in her quarters. I had reach, but she had flexibility. More than one way to work off stress, I guess." He shrugged and turned back to the commander.

Suddenly, the commander had an idea. Opportunity hit her like a ton of bricks. She smirked. "It sounds like you're carrying some tension." She said, getting up. "Maybe I could help you get rid of it."

"I, ah, didn't think you'd feel like sparring, Commander." She could hear the slight nervousness in his dual-toned voice. She folded her arms.

"What if we skipped right to the tiebreaker? We could test your reach…" she leaned on his console, facing him. "…and my flexibility." The smirk did not falter.

"Oh! I didn't… Huh." Garrus had about a million simultaneous emotions upon realizing what Shepard meant. He tried to shrug off his surprise. "Never knew you had a weakness for men with scars." The vigilante turned to the open battery doors. "Well, why the hell not? There's nobody in this galaxy I respect more than you." He said, turning back to face her. "And if we can figure out a way to make it work, then… yeah. Definitely."

Shepard maintained her smirk and walked past him out back into the mess hall. Garrus watched her as she passed, then went back to his console. Once he finished these calibrations, he had a lot of research to do.


	5. Chapter 5

_**5/6! Star of the Normandy is almost over. In this very long chapter: Tragic Backstories(TM) and a little fangirling. I tried to cover as much ground as possible so I wouldn't need an extra chapter of just character development.**_

 _ **Enjoy~!**_

 _ **The Endgame is next week~**_

* * *

Chapter Five – The Reaper IFF

After Shepard came back with Garrus and Thane from the Citadel, Star went up to see her drell friend. As she entered Life Support, as always, Thane acknowledged her presence the moment she walked up to him.

"Do you need something?"

"Got a minute?"

"Certainly." He replied, turning to face her. Star sat across from him.

"How did meeting Kolyat go?" She asked, leaning against the table.

"Better than I'd feared. He'd been contracted to assassinate a turian politician, Shepard and I were able to stop him before he'd done anything too incriminating. The C-Sec captain in Zakera Ward is considering employing him. I am awaiting the details from the commander." Thane had a peaceful look on his face. Star smiled.

"That's good to hear. I told you seeing Kolyat again was a good idea."

"Yes, it appears you were right. Kolyat and I spoke briefly when we got back to C-Sec." the drell's gaze cast downwards. "Our problems, they cannot be fixed with a few words. We'll keep talking, see what happens." His gaze met his human companion's, her pools of red filled with optimism and comfort. Strangely, they made him feel more at ease.

Star placed a hand on top of his and smiled sweetly. "I'm sure things will work out." The drell smiled slightly and nodded.

"And what of you? Did you resolve your issues as well?"

Star shrugged. "I wouldn't say my issues are 'resolved'. But Shepard did help me track down my sister's killer. He was on Illium, holed up in a warehouse with Eclipse guarding him."

Thane's brow plates furrowed as he noticed Star's distant expression. "You have avenged your sister. Are you not at peace?"

Star shook her head. "No, I suppose not. I thought that finding him – that killing him would set me free. I feel satisfied that my sister is avenged, but I also feel… lost. Empty. Without purpose." She shrugged. "I never really planned what I'd do with myself afterwards, I guess."

"I've learned from experience that revenge is not the answer we seek, rather it is a mere distraction. We lose ourselves pursuing vengeance, and drift, lost and without direction afterwards."

"I really wish you'd told me that sooner."

"It would have changed nothing. Tell me, would you not kill that man again if given the chance?"

She hesitated, her gaze downcast. "Well, yes. A thousand times over."

"Then you've accepted your fate, as I have." The girl looked up at Thane. "You were not planning on coming back from our mission, were you?" Her eyes widened, then her gaze fell again. She shook her head. "What will you do then, if by chance, you survive? Will you seek new purpose, or wander aimlessly?"

Star's eyes darted from the drell's hands to hers nervously as Thane cupped her hands in his. Her heart pounded, the beat resounding in her ears. "Perhaps, if we both survive, may we be able to find purpose in each other? Two aimless souls, wandering the galaxy?" A wave of heat washed over Star's face at his words.

 _'Does he mean what I think he means? Does he… want to spend the remainder of his life with me?'_ Her thoughts raced at a million miles per hour as she drew a deep breath to still her beating heart. "Yes, perhaps." She replied with a slight smile. The drell nodded and withdrew his hands, Star already missing their smoothness and warmth. "If you don't mind me saying, you don't really seem like an assassin."

"You've spent too much time fighting thugs who think custom-painted armor makes them professionals. The hanar trained my body for this role since I was six years old."

Star's brows raised. "The hanar? The really polite floating pink jellyfish? Why would they train assassins?"

"Every species trains assassins. The hanar are only unusual in that they need other species to do the killing for them. They have a strong grip, and natural toxins. But have you ever seen one move quickly outside of water, or fire a gun?"

"Does Blasto count?"

Thane chuckled slightly and shook his head.

"Did your parents agree to it?"

"The agreement was made under the Compact. It was an honor for our family."

"The what?"

"Compact. We live on the hanar homeworld because they rescued us – some of us – from extinction. We owe them our lives. That is the Compact."

"What are the terms?"

"There are many things the hanar can't do, even with mechanical aid. They ask drell to assist them."

"The hanar sound weak."

"Out here they are. But if you could see them in the Encompassing – the oceans of Kahje – you would see them differently." The drell blinked as he slipped into a memory. _"A stream of silver in the dark. Looping, diving. So fast the eye can't follow. Laughter like the squeals of a child vibrates the water. They fly over the black of the sea bed, like birds plumed with the light of heaven."_ He blinked a few times then looked back at his companion.

"You've gone freelance now. What changed?"

His gaze shifted. "I was asleep a long time, yes. I paid no attention to what my body was asked to do. But then-" Thane cut himself off and slipped into another memory. _"Laser dot trembles on his skull. One finger-twitch, he dies. Then the smell of spice on the spring wind. Sunset-colored eyes defiant in the scope. The laser dances away."_ The drell looked down and closed his eyes, regaining his composure. Star stared at him intently, remaining silent. He looked back at her, leaning against the desk. "My apologies. Drell slip into memories so easily."

"Sounds like one of your assassinations."

"Ah. Yes. Perhaps we can discuss it later. I've wasted too much of your time."

Star nodded and arose from her chair. "Talk to you later, _Thanatos-_ " She clamped her hand over her mouth the moment the word escaped her lips.

 _'The nickname I made up for him.'_

Thane gave her a questioning look, but Star hurried out of Life Support and into the elevator before the drell could ask, her hand still clasped firmly over her mouth. As the doors closed, she hit the button for Deck 4 and collapsed against the side of the elevator, sliding to the ground.

"Me and my big mouth." She groaned.

* * *

"Commander, you've received a new message at your private terminal." Shepard heard Kelly as she walked past her to the Galaxy Map. She'd check her messages later. Right now, she had an important mission she'd been putting off for far too long to do. For good reason; she needed to build up her crew. She needed everyone's heads in the game if they were going to pull this off, and it surprised her that every one of her squadmates had something they needed doing. As long as everyone was focused, they could do this. Definitely. The only teammate whose mission she'd put off for the time being was Tali's. Sure, she was being accused of treason, but the quarian admirals couldn't actually exile her before she showed up to the hearing, could they?

Could they?

The commander shook her head. No, of course not. Besides, she was sure they'd have time to visit the Migrant Fleet afterwards. With a sigh, she opened the map interface. "Joker, plot a course to the Thorne system in the Hawking Eta. Let's go get that IFF."

"Roger that, Commander."

Shepard stepped away from the map as the interface dimmed and headed to the elevator. "Garrus, Tali, suit up and report to the portside airlock." She said into her earpiece as she rode up to her cabin to prepare.

Soon, the Normandy had entered the system and was approaching the brown dwarf the derelict Reaper was orbiting. The ship began to shake violently as they entered the planet's atmosphere.

"What's with all the chop, Joker?" Shepard asked as she ran up to the pilot's chair.

"Doing my best. The wind's gusting to 500 kph." He replied as he steered the ship closer. As they approached the Reaper, Joker checked the scans. "There's a second ship alongside the Reaper. It's not transmitting any IFF, but the ladar paints its silhouette as geth."

"I guess we know why the science team stopped reporting in." Shepard said dryly, still clinging to Joker's chair. The ship moved in closer, and suddenly, all the shaking stopped. "What just happened?"

"The Reaper's mass effect fields are still active. We just passed inside their envelope." Shepard turned to leave as Joker added, "Eye of the hurricane, huh?"

Shepard and her squadmates boarded the Reaper quickly and passed through the airlock. Just outside, they were greeted by an old corpse and dried blood along the walls. "Exploring an abandoned area, expecting something mechanical and nasty to jump out at any moment. Just like old times." Garrus spoke up, looking around. The team pressed forward into what looked like a lab. The ship was huge and hollow, and sent chills up the commander's spine. She walked over to a terminal and played a video log by Dr. Chandana, who spoke of what Shepard was currently experiencing; a sinking feeling, like the walls were slowly closing in. She shook it off and they pressed ahead, gathering spare Medi-Gel from the stations along the wall. Another terminal nearby with another work log, this one of a scientist giving them proof that although derelict, the Reaper was affecting their minds. Like it was still 'alive' somehow. As the team moved to another airlock, there was a tremor as the door unlocked.

Joker's voice came in over their comms. "Normandy to shore party!"

"What just happened?" Shepard responded.

"The Reaper put up kinetic barriers. I don't think we can get through from our side."

"As curious as I am about Reapers, I'd rather not be trapped inside one." Tali commented.

"The Normandy's got guns. Use 'em." The commander said to Joker.

"The Normandy lacks the necessary firepower." EDI responded instead. "Reaper shields are impervious to dreadnought fire. Shepard, a kinetic barrier can only be produced by a mass effect generator. That is true for any ship, even a Reaper. At the moment of activation, I detected a heat spike in what is likely the wreck's mass effect core. Sending the coordinates now. Be advised: this core is also maintaining the Reaper's altitude."

"So when we take down the barriers to escape, the wreck falls into the planet core."

"And that means everyone dies. Yeah, I got it." The pilot added.

"If any helmsman can pull us off this thing before it reaches crush depth, it's you." She said encouragingly. "We'll make a sweep for survivors and recover what data we can. Stand by."

"Aye, aye. Good hunting."

The squad moved ahead, passing more bodies. "Everyone's dead. I've seen this too many times." Garrus commented as they looked over the corpses. Another terminal ahead, this time the log about two scientists able to recall a memory only one of them should have been able to remember with perfect clarity. "It sounds like the Reaper was affecting their minds." The turian added after the log ended.

They continued through the giant ship, and were met with a group of husks climbing from below them. "There are high-pressure tanks by the husks. Want me to blow them up?" Tali offered as the first one, an explosive Abomination, ran at Shepard. The squad made quick work of the shambling creatures, using the explosive crates nearby to their advantage and kept moving.

"I had wondered whether the technology for making husks came from the geth or from Sovereign." Garrus piped up.

"Geth origin never made sense to me. This confirms it's from the Reapers." Tali responded. They ran into more husks up ahead, and another work log afterwards, another pair of scientists complaining of headaches and seeing things. Moving forward, a pair of husks began to run towards the trio, only to be mysteriously shot down.

"Sniper!" Garrus warned.

 _'Thanks, Captain Obvious.'_

As they approached cautiously for a closer look, he added, "I couldn't see the shooter. A survivor from the science team?" Shepard shrugged, and picked up the power cells and platinum nearby, and quickly scanned the folded-up sniper rifle leaned against a terminal. The team was confronted by another group of husks crawling up from the depths, and in short order, yet another group ahead of them, accompanied by a Scion. Grabbing cover, Shepard focused on the hulking monstrosity firing shockwaves at them with her trusty Widow, while Garrus and Tali took out the husks. Shepard played yet another log, a scientist affirming that the Reaper was indeed affecting them, describing it as a 'god'. They approached an enormous structure, which the room seemed to be arranged around.

"We've seen these before, Shepard. Dragon's Teeth, your people called them. The geth used them on Eden Prime." Tali said as they examined the giant spikes. Some of the spikes had bodies of the scientists still impaled on them. Shepard looked closer.

"See how the room is arranged?" The squad looked around. "They treated this thing like some kind of altar."

"That doesn't seem right. No one in their right mind would want this."

"You heard the logs. They were seeing things. Hearing things. They were being indoctrinated." She turned around. "How about we all take a step back from the weird alien impaling devices?"

"Right." Garrus muttered. They headed back to a locked door they'd passed off to the right of the room, and bypassed it. They went through the airlock and as the room pressurized, an automated message played overhead.

"Please stand by. Equalizing pressure with exterior conditions. Remember, safety is everyone's concern. We have gone five days without a workplace death."

The squad moved out slowly, guns at the ready. Unbeknownst to them, the mystery sniper from before had the Commander in its scope. Instead of shooting Shepard, however, it shot down two husks attempting to ambush the group, before reloading and shooting the throat of a third. As the squad faced the sniper, they were surprised to see that it wasn't a survivor as Garrus had suggested, but in fact, a geth. That explained the second ship.

"Shepard-Commander." It stood up and said, before walking off to another part of the ship. Needless to say, Shepard was stunned.

"The sniper was a geth." Garrus spoke up first. "Since when do geth talk to organics?"

"It shouldn't be able to talk." Tali replied. "A single geth has no more intelligence than a varren." Shepard shook off her surprise and continued ahead, running into a small group of husks, then yet another bigger group with another Scion. They headed upstairs onto another platform, with even more husks, Shepard picking up Medi-Gel and accessing an open terminal, then walked into yet another group of husks with yet another Scion. _Lovely._ Shepard scanned a shotgun and picked up more power cells, then went ahead into, you guessed it, _more_ husks. This time, with _two_ Scions. The commander relied on her Widow yet again, tuned with Incendiary Ammo, and the explosive crates littering the area. They picked off the husks and Scions, while dodging cryo blasts and evading the husks that got too close. Shepard was starting to get tired of husks. She honestly would have preferred there had been geth roaming around the ship instead of husks. If she never saw another husk again, she could die a contented woman. Unfortunately, that group of husks led to another group of husks and Scions ahead. Shepard sighed and readied her Vindicator, all the while muttering 'Please be the last group' continuously while she led point blasting the awful creatures in the face.

"Destroying the mass effect core should be simple enough." Tali stated after they were done with the husks.

"Then we get off the ship. Fast." Garrus added. The commander reloaded her rifles and bypassed the doors to the airlock before them. Inside, she picked up a small device; the Reaper IFF.

"This must be it." The turian commented behind her as she looked at it. So, this was what she spent so many thermal clips and Medi-Gel packs getting to. It didn't feel like it was worth it.

"So the Cerberus team did recover it. But where are they now?" Tali added curiously. _'Probably those husks we just got done dealing with?'_ Shepard thought. As the room pressurized and the doors slid open, the team was greeted by a kinetic barrier blocking them from the core. They could see the geth sniper from before, working at a terminal ahead of them. It was also being swarmed by husks. The geth fired at the husks to keep them back, then continued at the terminal. The barrier before Shepard fell, and unfortunately so did the geth, as it was attacked as it turned to leave. Garrus and Tali started on the husks as the marine focused on the destroying the core, which periodically closed off and leaving them to the swarms of husks trying to overwhelm them. With a few shots from her missile launcher, the Reaper Core began to overload from damage and as it began to explode, the squad approached the inactive geth.

"Shepard! Want something done with that geth? It's still intact." Garrus yelled over the exploding core.

"Leave it here!" Tali yelled as the Reaper shook. "You know what they are! If it gets into Normandy's computers…"

Shepard turned around to see more husks crawling up after them and turned to Tali. "You said it yourself, no one's ever found one intact."

"That's true, but… I'm not sure it's worth the risk, Shepard."

"There's no time to debate it, Tali. Come on!"

As the Normandy pulled away from the docking bay, Joker called over the intercom. "Hang on, folks." With their breather helmets on, Shepard and Garrus carried the geth with its arms across their shoulders to meet the ship.

"Open the portside airlock." She said to Joker as Tali covered them from the husks. The ship pulled up alongside them, and as the airlock doors hissed open, they threw the geth inside. Garrus, followed by Tali and the commander each jumped into the ship as well. "We're clear. Go!" she called, the airlock closed and the Normandy flew off before getting caught in the explosions of the collapsing Reaper.

After getting cleaned up, Shepard met with Miranda and Jacob in the briefing room. "I think we need to discuss the unique piece of salvage we recovered. For now, we've stored it in EDI's AI core." The XO informed her. Shepard paced the floor, examining the holo of the geth above the table. "We need better equipment to fight the Reapers." She continued. "An intact geth would be invaluable to Cerberus' cyberweapons division."

"We'll have to disagree on that, ma'am." Jacob said, leaning against the table. "I saw enough of these things on Eden Prime. Space it."

"Cerberus has a long-standing cash bounty for an intact geth. I assure you, the reward is significant."

"I want to know why it has a piece of N7 armor strapped to its chest." Shepard spoke up, folding her arms and still looking at the hologram.

"Battle trophy, maybe? Would a machine care about that?" Jacob inferred.

"No. Trophies imply emotions that AI's don't have. I doubt it's more than a convenient field repair." Miranda responded.

"I've killed hundreds of these things, but I've never had a chance to talk to one." Shepard continued. "This one tried to communicate with us. Hell, it probably saved our lives. Why?"

"Reactivating a geth is a risk. If you do so, it should be for humanity's best interests and not your curiosity."

"I still think our 'best interests' involve an airlock." Jacob folded his arms.

"I'm not deciding one way or the other until I know what we've got here. I want to start it up. Interrogate it." The commander said.

Miranda leaned against the table. "If we activate it, there's no guarantee we can deactivate it again."

"Bullets can." Said Jacob.

"That's not what I-"

"Thank you – both of you – for your recommendations. I've made my decision." Shepard cut them off. Jacob shook his head.

"Tali's going to freak when she hears about this." He activated his Omni-Tool, changing the holo of the geth to the IFF. "So what about this Reaper IFF?"

EDI's blue holo popped up. "I have determined how to integrate it with our systems. However, the device is Reaper technology. It is important we test it thoroughly before attempting the Omega-4 relay. It will take some time to properly integrate it with our own systems."

"Let me know when it's done. Until then we keep building our team." Shepard replied.

"Of course, Shepard. The crew will begin work immediately." The blue orb shut off.

"I'll let you know when the IFF is ready for shakedown." Miranda added, and left the room and Jacob saluted and followed her. The marine left as well and took the elevator down to Deck Three, heading directly to the AI Core. As she approached, the guard stood at attention.

"Ten-hut!" he saluted.

"I'm turning this thing back on. Be ready."

"Aye, aye."

Shepard entered the room and turned on her Omni-Tool, activating a kinetic barrier around the platform the geth rested on. "I have isolated our systems and erected additional firewalls. I am prepared to resist any hacking attempt." EDI's voice came in over the intercom. She walked up to the geth, looking it over, then typed a command into her Tool. A controlled shock jolted the geth, but it made no motion. She sent another command, and shocked the geth again, this time its fingers twitched. The optic light lit up, then flashed and came on brighter. The geth whirred and sat up, then stood before the human. It was as tall as she was, almost completely plated with metal overlay, save for a few wires and a hole in its 'abdomen' she could see right through. An N7 shoulder guard and part of a breastplate was strapped to its chest, and the hole revealed what could be considered its spinal column, wrapped in wires with little blue lights on them, what Shepard assumed might be microprocessors.

"Can you understand me?" she spoke first.

"Yes." The synthetic voice replied simply.

"Are you going to attack me?"

"No."

"Every geth I met before you tried to blow my head off."

"We have not met."

"No, you and I haven't. But I've met other geth." She paced before it.

"We are all geth, and we have not met you." The geth paced as well, mimicking her movements. "You are Shepard. Commander. Alliance. Human. Fought heretics. Killed by Collectors. Rediscovered on the Old Machine."

"'Old Machine'? You mean the Reaper?"

"Reaper. A superstitious title originating with the Protheans. We call those entities the Old Machines."

"You seem to know an awful lot about me."

"Extranet data sources. Insecure broadcasts. All organic data sent out is received. We watch you."

"You watch me, or you watch organics?"

"Yes."

"Which?"

"Both."

"I fight geth. You do anything hostile, I blow you to pieces. Just so we're clear."

"We have no hostility towards you."

"Sure didn't seem that way on Eden Prime and the Citadel."

"You fought heretics. Not true geth. Geth build their own future. The heretics asked the Old Machines to give them the future. They are no longer pat of us. We were studying the Old Machine's hardware to protect our future."

"Are the Reapers a threat to you too?"

"Yes."

"Why would they attack other machines?"

"We are different from them. Outside their plans."

"What future are the geth building?"

"Ours."

"Will anyone else be affected by whatever it is you're doing?"

"If they involve themselves, they will."

"So you aren't allied with the Reapers?" she stepped closer to it again, and it did the same.

"We oppose the heretics. We oppose the Old Machines. Shepard-Commander opposes the Old Machines. Shepard-Commander opposes the heretics. Cooperation furthers mutual goals."

"Are you asking to join us?"

"Yes."

Shepard dropped the kinetic barrier. "Then what should I call you?"

"Geth."

"I mean you. Specifically." She motioned to it. It mimicked her motion.

"We are all geth."

"What is the individual in front of me called?" she folded her arms.

"There is no individual. We are geth. There are currently 1,183 programs active within this platform."

Before Shepard could retort, EDI's holo popped up. "'My name is Legion, for we are many.'"

"That seems appropriate." The soldier commented.

The geth paused and whirred for a moment, the looser plates on its head twitching. "Christian Bible, the gospel of Mark, chapter five, verse nine. We acknowledge this as an appropriate metaphor. We are Legion, a terminal of the geth. We will integrate into Normandy." Shepard held out her hand, and Legion held out his. They glanced at each other, then shook hands firmly. "We anticipate the exchange of data."

* * *

Star was almost shaking in the knees as the elevator ascended to Deck Three. The memory flashed before her eyes as if it had just happened two minutes ago.

 _"Talk to you later, Thanatos –"_

"Idiot, idiot, idiot." She murmured, banging her head against the wall in time with each word. "Why am I still going up there? He's probably going to ask. Of course he'll ask. He'll remember. Goddammit." She thought out loud, then let out a long sigh as the doors slid open. _'Might as well. I can't avoid him forever.'_ She stepped out of the lift and slowly walked to Life Support. The doors slid open and she maintained her slow pace walking in, hoping Thane would not notice her through some magical reason. Instead, the drell greeted her as he always did; without turning around.

"Do you need something?"

She took a deep breath.

"Ah, Star." He said before she could speak, turning his head to face her. Her breath hitched. "I must confess, I was hoping you'd come." He motioned her to sit. She moved slowly to the chair and sat, avoiding direct eye contact.

 _'Oh goddess, here it comes.'_

She was surprised when Thane let out a light chuckle. The mercenary looked up at him, startled by the bemused look on his face.

"My apologies." He said, still grinning ever so slightly. "I am fully aware of why you are nervous, and I'm afraid I cannot help but find it amusing. The time I have spent with you has made you quite easy to read." She quirked an eyebrow. He continued, "You see, it is not the first time I have been given a name other than my own. Nicknames have never offended me, and yours is no different. In fact, I am quite curious to know why you have selected it. I was hoping you'd tell me."

Star shifted nervously. "Well, you're an assassin, a trained and skilled killer. A harbinger of death, so to speak." She cleared her throat. "The name 'Thanatos' is the name of a god in Earth's Greek mythology. The god of death. In Roman, the name translates to Pluto, one of Sol system's planets. I didn't think 'Pluto' would be very fitting, so I went with the Greek version."

The drell milled over the information, and smiled. "I also think it is a fitting name. Thank you." Star returned his smile. _'Well, that wasn't so bad…'_

"So, now that that's out of the way, do you have a minute?"

"Of course." He rested his elbows on the table, cupping his hands.

"The last time we talked, you had a flashback as if it'd happened five minutes ago."

"Drell have perfect memory. We can relive any moment of our lives with perfect clarity. It's difficult to control at times. Some of us disappear into… mmm, let's call it solipsism."

"Solip-what?"

"Solipsism." He repeated and leaned back in his chair. "When a memory feels as real as life, it's as valid as life. Thinking about a moment brings back the smell of cut grass, the warmth of another's hand on yours, the taste of another's tongue in your mouth." A slight flush raised on Star's face, along with her eyebrows. "Wouldn't you rather lose yourself in such a memory than spend the night alone, staring at walls of metal and plastic?"

"Well, yes, but isn't that a little… personal to talk about?"

"Forgive me. Lately I have spent a great deal of time reviewing my life. I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable."

 _'Make me uncomfortable? No, never. Nervous, yes. But not uncomfortable'_ "But you could lose yourself in bad memories too."

"Yes, remembering the times I've taken bullets is… unpleasant. But I can look at my knee and see it's not shattered. The memories that are hard to escape are those of despair." She frowned slightly. He was right. She could still remember clearly, sometimes in the darkness of the sub-deck, being in the engine room of the batarian slavers' ship. The heat of the drive core venting onto her back. The sting of the faulty L2 implant they'd hastily sewn into her head. If she used her biotics even the slightest, that chip would've fried her brain. It sent a shudder down her spine and she shook it off. She wasn't on that ship anymore. That was a long time ago.

"So, you can remember everything that ever happened to you?"

"Nearly. And I expect if we remembered the birth trauma, we'd never recover from it."

She chuckled. "That's true. You can remember every hit?"

"In perfect detail. Every mistake I made. Every target's last breath."

"Every bit of guilt."

"Guilt?" He leaned forward again, cupping his hands. "No. I've never felt any particular guilt about my contracts. My employers killed them. My body was only the tool they used. If you kill a man with your gun, do you hold the gun responsible?"

"My gun isn't alive. It has no choice, but you do."

"My soul does, but my body is merely flesh. Flesh whose reflexes were honed to kill. Drell minds are different from humans'. We see our body as a vessel, and accept that it is not always under our control."

"So if I blew your brains out right now, a drell court wouldn't convict me?"

"You'd be guilty because you chose to do so. If my reflexes caused me to draw and fire when I saw your gun come up, I would be innocent. Humans often believe in a soul distinct from the body. A spirit responsible for moral reasoning that lives on after the body's death. Our belief is just a bit more literal."

"I see. But back to memories, that flashback you had before, about 'sunset colored eyes in the scope'?"

"Ah. That time." His inner eyelids blinked and his gaze lost focus. _"Laser dot trembles on his skull. Spice on the spring wind. Sunset eyes defiant in the scope."_ He blinked again and met her gaze once more. "A bystander noticed my spotting laser, and threw herself between me and the target. She couldn't see me, but she stared me down."

"You just blurted that out. Another vivid memory?"

"Not - no. She was a vivid person."

"Did you take the shot?"

"Not that day." Star quirked an eyebrow, but the drell refused to continue. She leaned back and stretched.

"Well, alright then. I should be going now. We'll talk later, okay?" She said as she stood.

"Star. I appreciate these chats we have."

"You've spent way too much time alone, Thane." She smiled.

He scoffed and smiled. "Work fulfilled me. Reading. I barely spoke to anyone outside my family. It seems there will be no one to mourn me when I die. You're the closest friend I've made in ten years." His eyes widened when Star gave him a small hug.

"Well you can count on me being there. You could use a friend." She spoke sweetly against his cheek, her warm breath sending a slight tingling sensation along his frills. Her voice sounded more melodic than it had ever seemed. Her skin soft, smooth and warm. The drell smiled to hide the pang of disappointment in his chest when she let him go and stood upright. "You shouldn't hold yourself back so much."

"I've found it difficult to sit in the ship's mess for meals. I'm used to keeping my back against the walls, facing the doors. I'm trying to relax. Find my center." He leaned against the desk again.

"Well, if you ever need someone to confide in, I'm just an elevator ride away." She cupped her hands behind her and swayed on her heels. "I'm here for you, whatever you need." She smiled sweetly. Thane felt an odd warmth in his chest.

"You are very kind. Thank you… _siha_."

Star stopped moving on her heels and tilted her head like a confused puppy, then grinned. "Siha? Is that your nickname for me?"

Thane chuckled. "Yes, let's call it that."

"What does it mean?"

"I will tell you another day."

Star pouted a bit then smiled and nodded. "See you later, _Thanatos_." She said with mischief in her voice as she turned on her heels and left. When the doors hissed shut, Thane only then realized how empty and lifeless the room felt without her. The colors seemed to dim. Only now did he hear the hum of the drive core. It felt… lonely. Desolate. Thane's mind wandered to the brief moment where she'd closed the gap between them. The feeling of her cheek against his frills, the vibration in her throat when she spoke against him rippled through his body in waves of warmth. For a second, Thane wished she'd held him longer, that he'd returned her embrace. That, perhaps, he'd supplemented it with a…

 _'No.'_ he pushed the thought to the back of his mind. _'It would be selfish of me to subject her to the pain of loving a dying man. She is already burdened with loss. I will not add to it.'_ He scolded himself. _'She is my dear friend. I do not want her to hurt more than she needs to. It is already bad enough I referred to her by the endearment.'_ He closed his eyes, scolding himself for that slip of the tongue. _'It would be best for her to believe it is merely a nickname, as the one she has given me… Thanatos.'_ The word played on his lips and he smiled and whispered, "Thanatos Krios. Yes. That will do nicely."

* * *

As the elevator doors slid open, Shepard glanced at Star approaching from Life Support. The mercenary was all smiles, apparently lost in thought and didn't notice her commanding officer walk past her out of the elevator. Shepard watched the girl absent-mindedly select her destination and her brows furrowed as the door closed.

 _'Did she… did she just giggle?'_

Shepard glanced back to Life Support's doors, wondering what conversation could have possibly taken place between her and the drell assassin to illicit an uncharacteristic _giggle_ from the merc. The marine shook her head. That was probably none of her business. She went along her way, heading through the Mess and straight to the Main Battery. The doors hissed open and the turian turned to face her as she approached him.

"Shepard. Need me for something?"

"Have you got a minute?"

Garrus glanced around hesitantly, then shut the battery doors. "Yeah. I've been thinking about what we talked about. Blowing off steam, easing tension. I've never considered cross-species intercourse. And damn, saying it that way doesn't help. Now I feel dirty and clinical." Shepard smirked as he began pacing and scratched the back of his neck nervously. "Are we crazy to even be thinking about this? I'm not… Look, Shepard. I know you can find something a little closer to home."

"I don't want something closer to home. I want you. I want someone I can trust." She stepped closer to him and smiled.

"I can do that." He said with a nod. "I'll find some music… and do some research to figure out how this should work." Shepard folded her arms as he continued. "It'll either be a night to treasure, or a horrible interspecies-awkwardness thing." He paused. "In which case, fighting the Collectors will be a welcome distraction. So, you know, a win either way."

The commander dropped her arms and stepped a little closer, placing a hand on his shoulder. "You know, Garrus, if you're not comfortable with this, it's okay. I'm not trying to pressure you."

"Shepard, you're about the only friend I've got left in this screwed-up galaxy." His gaze met her own and she smiled. "I'm not going to pretend I've got fetish for humans… but this isn't about that. This is about us. You don't ever have to worry about making me uncomfortable. Nervous, yes… but never uncomfortable."

She smirked and folded her arms again. "So, when should I book the room?"

"I'd wait, if you're okay with it. Disrupt the crew as little as possible… and take that last chance to find some calm just before the storm." He shifted his weight to one leg. "You know me, I always like to savor the last shot before popping the heat sink." Shepard grinned slightly and Garrus' good mandible twitched with realization. "Wait. That metaphor just went somewhere horrible."

"I'll let you get back to work." She turned to leave.

"Right. 'Cause I'm in a great place to optimize firing algorithms right now." She heard him say over her shoulder. She smirked and headed back to the CIC.

* * *

After coming back from the Migrant Fleet, Shepard went to see Tali. She'd managed to convince the Admiralty Board that they were being a bunch of self-concerned assholes and that Tali had done far too much for the fleet for them to even consider exiling her. As an added bonus, her decision to bring Legion along opened up avenues she used to try to convince the quarians not to go to war with the geth. She hoped they'd take her warnings to heart.

"Commander, Legion would like to talk to you." Kelly informed her as she stepped out of the elevator. The commander sighed internally and turned back to the elevator console, sending it to the crew deck. The doors opened, and she headed towards to AI Core. Legion spoke up as soon as she entered.

"Shepard-Commander. We have completed our analysis of the Reaper's data core."

"Did you find anything useful?" She walked up beside the geth. It turned to face her.

"We were sent to the Old Machine to preserve the geth's future. We are prepared to reveal how. The heretics have developed a weapon to use against geth. You would call it a 'virus'. It is stored on a data core provided by Sovereign. Over time, the virus will change us. Make us conclude that worshipping the Old Machines is correct."

"So why did you need to go to the Reaper corpse?"

"The heretics store the code in a quantum storage device Sovereign provided. To find and destroy the virus, we needed to understand its code and data storage structures."

"So, the virus would give all geth the heretics' logic. And all geth would then go to war with organics."

"Yes. Geth believe all intelligent life should self-determinate. The heretics no longer share this belief. They judge that forcing an invalid conclusion on us is preferable to a continued schism."

"You know where this thing is?"

"The heretics' headquarters station, on the edge of the Terminus. We will provide coordinates. Normandy's stealth systems are necessary to safely approach."

"What defenses should we expect?"

"In space, none. Within, mobile platforms of various configuration, and non-sentient defense turrets."

"How many geth?"

"There may be billions of individual programs. Fortunately, most will be uploaded to the central computer. Only a few mobile platforms are maintained at any time. Others are manufactured when needed."

"Heretic headquarters. Sounds like we could end their raids once and for all. Let's do it."

"Total victory is a possibility. We cannot judge the odds at this time. Regardless, we will begin preparations."

Shepard nodded to the geth and headed back to the CIC. She went up to the bridge and called to Joker.

"I'm glad that mess is over for Tali, Commander." He turned his chair as she approached. "Some of those quarians… I guess living your whole life aboard a ship can really mess with your priorities? Not that I would know… ah, I just burned myself. Great." She stifled a chuckle.

"What do you think of the people we're picking up?"

"Well, about the one's you went out with last… Well, I always liked Tali so – let's just move on. Having Legion around is just… begging for a rifle up your ass. Without the sweet talk. Speaking of, it just sent me some coordinates for something called a 'Heretic Station'? Know anything about that?"

"That's our next destination, plot a course."

"Oh great, they're already starting to take over. Are we gonna have to start calling it Overlord Legion soon?" Joker said dryly, turning back to the control console. Shepard shook her head and walked off, tuning into the intercom through her earpiece.

"Legion, Star, gear up and report to the bridge. We're headed to the heretic headquarters."

In about an hour, the Normandy was approaching the geth station. Legion had joined Shepard in the cockpit, giving the annoyed pilot docking instructions. He shook his head and turned to the geth. "You know it's just our heat emissions that are hidden, right? They can look out a window and see us coming."

"Windows are structural weaknesses. Geth do not use them." Legion replied, turning to a console. "Approach the hull at these coordinates." Joker turned away and did a mocking robot gesture, causing Shepard to glare at him. He held up his hands in defense, and followed the geth's instructions. "Access achieved. We may proceed."

The squad entered the station's airlock, breather helmets on, and Legion proceeded to cut through the other door to prevent an alarm. As they jumped down into the station, Legion stopped them. "Alert. This facility has little air or gravity. Geth require neither." Star turned on the mag-clamps on her boots to keep grounded as the commander spoke up.

"Won't we be detected? Don't they have intrusion alarms?"

"Sensors have been reduced. We have infiltrated their wireless network and filled the data storage with random bits."

"And that helps us how?"

"The heretics must scrub this 'junk' data. They have partitioned themselves into local networks, working in parallel. Any alarm we trigger will not go beyond the room we are in. Only accessing the main core will trigger a station-wide alert."

"We've got a job to do. Let's get to it." Shepard began to walk past Legion.

"Shepard-Commander." It sounded like a screech. Shepard turned around. "We concluded that destruction of this station was the only resolution to the heretic question. There is now a second option. Their virus can be repurposed. If released into the station's network, the heretics will be rewritten to accept our truth."

"So we brainwash them or blow them up. Either way, they're done." Star added.

"Why didn't you mention this before we came aboard?" The commander turned back to Legion.

"We did not know the virus was complete. It is. It can be used against the true geth at any time. Our arrival was timely."

"I wouldn't brainwash an organic race. I can't see treating the geth differently."

"The question is irrelevant. If we do not rewrite them, we destroy them. That is why we are here. Do not hesitate now. They will exterminate your species because their gods tell them to. You cannot negotiate with them. They do not share your pity, remorse, or fear." The squad drew their guns and moved on, Shepard tuning her rifles to Disruptor Ammo. The station was huge and empty and felt… alien. Synthetic. It was as if she could feel the cold through her armor. They moved downstairs and she could see geth standing by a hub. There were green streams along the floor. Shepard decided not to step on them.

"Looks like they don't know we're here." Star commented.

"Interrupting data streams will alert the local network. We recommend preemptive strikes against hardlink routers." Legion added. Shepard skirted around the data streams and found some cover behind the geth platforms. She pulled out her missile launcher and fired one, throwing the geth across the room. "We have been detected." The squad pulled their guns and took down the remaining geth.

"There's good stuff in those hubs, Commander. We should grab them." Star said, checking her Omni-Tool. Shepard went up to the hubs and scanned it, collecting what resources she could.

"Why are all the heretics attached to these hubs?" she asked Legion.

"These are mobile platforms. Hardware. The crew is software. They are communing through the station's central computer."

"I'm not sure I follow."

"The heretics connect to the main computer to exchange data-memories and program updates. We gain complexity by linking together. To be isolated within a single platform is to be reduced. We see less. Comprehend less. It is quieter."

"If you exchange data – memories – how do you keep track of which ones are yours? How do stay 'you'?"

"There is only 'we'. We were created to share data amongst ourselves. The difference between geth is perspective. We are many eyes looking at the same things. One platform will see things another does not and will make different judgements." It paced.

"If that's the case, is rewriting the heretics that big a deal? They're like a rogue limb of your own body. Rewriting them would be like reattaching a severed arm."

"To use your metaphor, they removed themselves from our body. Took their perspective. Their judgement."

"They decided to worship Sovereign. I don't think you're missing much."

"Every point of view is useful, even those that are wrong – if we can judge why a wrong viewpoint was accepted. For example, we have found the casual self-deceptions of organics useful in analyzing your thought-processes."

"Let's keep moving."

"Yes." They went into an adjoining room, containing the turrets Legion had mentioned earlier. "We can assume control of any defensive turret. They will assist us for a short time, then explode." Shepard nodded, and as geth began to file out from the other room, she told Legion to hack one of the turrets, and it fired rockets at the heretics, making short work of them, and exploded as Legion said. The squad kept moving through twisting hallways and came to another set of inactive geth, and data streams lining the floor. Shepard used her previous tactic, stationing her squadmates at the other geth hub, then blowing up the one before her with missiles. After the firefight, she salvaged the hubs and moved on. In the next hallway, geth troopers were waiting on them and Shepard had to take cover behind the protruding columns. Legion hacked one of the troopers, making it attack its allies as Star used her new biotic ability, Flare, to destroy the unshielded ones. Shepard picked up some thermal clips and Medi-Gel, and continued upstairs into another hallway with more heretics. After shooting them down with her Widow, the squad carried on into what looked like a storage room, and geth hunters. Using the rocket turrets, it didn't take much to finish them off and the commander picked up some power cells before moving to the next room to find platinum. They came to a long corridor, housing more geth and turrets, and picked them off quickly.

"This place is huge!" Star commented, looking around the room and through the glass. She thought geth didn't use windows.

"The station is over 15 kilometers long. That room may run the length of it." Legion told her as Shepard bypassed a terminal and they continued downstairs and through a door. They came to another set of data streams and followed them to the geth hubs they connected to. As the squad dealt with the first set, a pair of geth hunters cornered them but Legion managed to hack one and they took out the other. They moved ahead after salvaging the hubs into another room, where adjacent to it were many servers.

"What are these?" Star asked, walking up to the windows.

"Processors. Each contain thousands of geth." Legion replied.

"They can't see us, can they?"

"They are no more aware of us than you are of cells in your bloodstream."

"This isn't like the other hubs we've seen here." Shepard pointed out.

"This is a database. It contains a portion of the heretics' accumulated memories." Legion connected to the servers and to Star, it almost looked startled. "Wait. We discovered copies of our current patrol routes in this database. This suggests the heretics have runtimes within our networks."

"We wouldn't be here if the heretics wanted to be friends with the geth. Why wouldn't they spy on you?"

"You do not understand. Organics do not know each other's minds. Geth do. We are not suspicious. We accept each other. The heretics desired to leave. We understood their reasons. We allowed it. There was peace between us."

"It couldn't have lasted forever. You disagreed about what path your race should take."

"Human history is a litany of blood shed over differing ideals of rulership and afterlife. Geth have no such history. We shared consensus on such things. How could we have become so different? Why can we no longer understand each other? What did we do wrong?" Legion sounded solemn.

"When individuals are separated, they develop in different ways. When they get back together, they don't always get along."

"If this is the individuality you value, we question your judgement. This topic is irrelevant. We must return to the mission."

"Have you reached a decision about whether to rewrite the heretics or not?"

"We are still trying to build consensus. Some processes judge destruction preferable. Others rewrite."

"Let's keep moving."

"Yes." As they walked past the servers, Star considered what Legion had said. _'Maybe organics and synthetics aren't so different after all…'_

The next room was large, and housed what Star could only assume was the terminal they were looking for. Shepard and Legion walked up to it. "This is it?"

"Yes. We will upload a copy of our runtime into the core. It will delete all copies of the virus. When complete, it will notify us. The indexing operation will take time. The heretics will respond with force to our upload. We must hold this room." Legion walked up to the console and the mobile plates on his head spread out. "We can override some of the station's internal systems to defend us. Are you ready to begin?"

"Start your upload, Legion. We'll defend this position."

The console interface lit up as Legion began. "File transfer begun. Shepard-Commander, where would you like us to activate defenses?" As the squad moved into cover, it continued, "Alert: heretic runtimes downloading to mobile platforms."

Geth began pouring into the room as Legion activated two of the rocket drones. Shepard pulled out her Widow and Star her Viper and all three of them began sniping the heretics before they got too close. No sooner did those geth fall, another set poured in again while the squad reloaded. This time, there were troopers with rocket launchers making life difficult for them. Another wave of heretics stormed in after them, and Shepard had to pull back for a bit to find thermal clips. This allowed a few troopers to make their way up to their platform, causing the Commander to switch to her Vindicator to deal with them. As Legion finished off the last trooper, the console lit up again. "Data mine and analysis complete." The squad convened at the terminal and it continued. "Shepard-Commander, it is time to choose. Do we rewrite the heretics, or delete them?"

"If they're… rewritten. Your people will accept them back? Will they even want to go back?"

"They will agree to our judgements and return. We will integrate their experiences. All will be stronger."

"Take them, then. When we get control of the core, release the virus."

"Acknowledged." Legion went up to the console and entered some commands. Its plates raised again. "Releasing virus. Note: remote access via high gain transmission required."

"What's that mean?" Star piped up.

"The virus will be sent to heretics in nearby star systems. This station will broadcast a powerful electromagnetic pulse through FTL channels."

"How powerful?" Shepard asked.

"Yield in excess of 1.21 petawatts. Alert: EM flux will be hazardous to unshielded organic forms. Addendum: The interior of this station is not shielded."

"I really wish you'd said that before. Back to the ship! Double time, people!"

The squad sprinted out into the next room, towards the nearest airlock. Unfortunately, more geth platforms were waiting up ahead. Grabbing cover, the trio blasted through the troopers quickly, but they had a bigger problem ahead. A Geth Prime. Shepard pulled out her missile launcher and didn't stop firing until the Prime was in bits. With a minute and a half to spare, the team made it to the airlock and the Normandy pulled away from the station just as the EM pulse was sent out. Shepard pulled off her helmet and leaned against the bridge walls as her squadmates waked past her. Legion stopped and nodded to her in a silent thanks and she returned the gesture as the geth followed Star to the armory.

* * *

After cleaning up, Star went up to Life Support. All she could think about was that nickname Thane had given her.

 _"Siha."_

She smiled. Then blushed. She felt like a giddy teenager, getting all soft because of a few words. She took a deep breath as the elevators opened and she stepped out. The doors hissed opened and she approached the drell. "Thane."

"Star. Do you need something?"

"Got a minute?"

"Very well. I am – I had been recording a message for Kolyat." His gaze followed her as she sat across from him.

"How's it going with him?"

"It is difficult. All things worth keeping are. I never fully explained what had happened between us. His mother - my wife – she died." Star's face fell, and he continued. "I wasn't ready to tell you, I hope you understand. You were upfront with the death of your sister."

"Of course I understand, it's a hard topic to talk about."

"I appreciate it." He stood and moved behind his chair. "I kept my work clear of our home life. I assumed that would be enough to protect Irikah. That memory I mentioned before -" His gaze lost focus, _"Laser dot trembles on the target's skull. The smell of spice of the spring wind. Sunset eyes defiant in the scope."_ Thane's eyes met Star's again and he began to pace the floor. "That was Irikah. That was how I met her. She saw my targeting laser as she walked by, and threw herself in the way."

"So how'd you end up marrying her?" She asked as he sat down.

"I had to meet her. The memory possessed and endowed me. I fell on my knees before her. Begged her pardon." Star leaned closer. "She introduced me to the world beyond my work. Eventually, she forgave me. Later, she loved me." Thane smiled at the memory, but a sinking feeling began to settle in Star's gut. She shook it off.

"I'm impressed by her bravery."

"She woke me up." Star quirked an eyebrow. He slipped into another memory, _"Her body trembles. Not fear. Indignation. Her mouth moves. 'How dare you?'_ You and I trained to sacrifice ourselves to save others. How often does a civilian step in the way of a bullet to protect someone they've never met? I thought she was the goddess Arashu. She met my eyes through the scope, and my purpose faltered."

There it was again, that sinking feeling as she listened to Thane speak. He looked so contented talking about his wife. Star tried to smile, but her stomach twisted, and so did her face. Resting her head on her cupped hands to hide her strained smile, she asked him, "How did she die?"

Thane hung his head. "I let myself become complacent. I thought Irikah and Kolyat were safe. I stayed away too long, and my enemies came for her."

"Your enemies?"

"Batarians." He leaned forward, meeting her gaze once more. "A slaver ring that was preying on hanar outer colonies. I'd killed their leaders." The drell's face grew serious. "They paid the Shadow Broker to find out who I was. But they were afraid of me, so they went after her." The look in her eyes was of anger. He remembered; batarian slavers had also killed her parents.

"You hunted then down?"

"Irikah woke me up. When she passed, I returned to my battle sleep. My body hunted her killers. Murdered them. I was taught to grant death quickly, cleanly. To minimize suffering. Them – I let them linger."

"I'd have done the same thing. You were operating on instinct. You can't blame yourself." She said in a comforting tone.

"But I made the choice to hunt them. They're the only lives I've ever taken of my own choice. The only deaths on my own conscience." He leaned back, looking up at the ceiling. "I haven't spoken about my wife in—I don't think I ever have. I didn't have anyone left to tell it to."

"Thane, the worse thing is to face death with regrets. And, like I said, I'm here for you. Always. If there's anything you need, just ask."

"I've never had a friend like you. Assassins tend to be solitary. I'm learning the virtues of facing death with others at your side. It's a work in progress." He cupped his hands and leaned forward, smiling. "Thank you for listening, siha."

That name again. The twisting in her stomach disappeared when she heard it. She smiled. "You said you'd tell me what 'siha' means."

"One of the warrior angels of Arashu. Fierce in wrath; a tenacious protector."

She chuckled. "That's a fitting name."

"I thought so too." Thane swallowed the other words he'd wanted to say. He wanted to tell her what it truly meant to him. But he could not.

Star cleared her throat. "I, um, I suppose I should tell you about my own history now, since you've basically drawn me a picture of yours."

The drell chuckled. "You don't have to if you are not ready."

"No, it's alright. We're almost ready to tackle the Collectors, it's 'now or never' time." She leaned back. "I grew up on a small eezo mining colony on Mobius, just on the edge of the Terminus Systems. It was a lovely place, calm, quiet, peaceful. My sister and I were born twins, I was first. She had pink hair, believe it or not. It wasn't natural, though. A rare mutation from exposure to radiation. Eezo exposure gave me biotics." Thane rested his chin on his hands. "When we were seven, a batarian slave ship landed on the colony. At first, they just wanted to steal the resources at our mining facility, but soon they started shooting." She sighed. "They killed almost everyone. Anyone who was hiding, they shackled and loaded onto the ship. They took me and my sister because we had biotic potential. Apparently, biotic kids were worth a pretty penny."

"Was your sister ever sold?"

"No, I wouldn't let it happen. They locked us all in the cargo bay, and since we were small, we could fit in the vents. We hid there and watched them torture the others, and sold off the ones who didn't die from that to some big company. We couldn't hide in the vents forever; someone eventually found me. A turian named Tireck. He hated humans, and he hated me. I got a lot of bruises from him." Thane's eye ridges furrowed. "Eventually, the captain found someone to sell me to, a lab running experiments on biotic kids. I didn't want to leave my sister behind, so during the trade-off, I escaped and slipped back onto the ship. The scientists weren't any the wiser, and the captain made off with the credits before they noticed. Tireck found me hiding however, and dragged me to the captain. I thought he was going to shoot me, but he laughed and told me if I could keep doing that, he could make a fortune. Naturally, I agreed. That's how I managed to stay on the ship until I was fourteen."

"You helped them run a con racket for seven years? I am impressed by your bravery."

She grinned. "I did it for my sister. It wasn't easy, but I used that ship as my training grounds. There was also a krogan and a pair of salarians on the ship. Jorgal Gortav, Ishmel and Selae. Gortav used to tell war stories, and he showed me how to fight. Ishmel managed the sick bay, and used to patch me up when Tireck got bored." She pointed to a series of faded scars on her neck. "He tried to claw my throat out once. 'To see how long it'd take me to bleed out'." Anger boiled in Thane's chest as he examined the mark. How could someone be so cruel? To a child, no less? She continued. "I got better at fighting and shooting, and trained my biotics. It made me worth more, so the captain wouldn't decide he didn't need me one day. Once, they gave me a faulty implant to boost my biotics. Then Tireck locked me in the engine room while I was recovering from the hasty procedure. He knew if I'd used my biotics, it would've fried my brain. I ended up tearing it out with my fingers. Ishmel found me before I bled out and kept it a secret from the captain."

"And your sister?"

"I kept her hidden, safe. I went hungry so she could eat. I found new places in the ship where she could hide. I taught her how to evade detection. She needed to be safe, secret. I was afraid Tireck would kill her."

"How did you escape the ship?"

"Ah. They'd taken up delivering goods to Eclipse, and one shipment was several barrels of red sand. By then, I was part of the crew, so I managed to convince Gortav to take some, and when he passed out, I hid my sister in the barrel. I hid in one beside it just before the hand-over took place, and when it was quiet, we jumped out and ran. We were covered in red sand and higher than the Presidium, but we managed to get away." She chuckled. "That's when I discovered we were on the Citadel. I had some credits, so we got some new clothes and we went to C-Sec. Last I heard, Eclipse had the ship blown up for shorting the delivery." Star chuckled. "After that, I hijacked a passenger ship and we ended up on Omega. Since all I knew was fighting, I became a mercenary." She sighed, then stretched. "And that's how I ended up here."

"You've been through so much, yet your only instinct was to protect your sister…" Thane's voice trailed off. "You are indeed a true siha."

She smiled. "Thank you, but if that were really true, she'd still be here… I failed her." Her gaze downcast, and her eyes welled up with tears. The drell stood. "I let her die. I was so foolish for leaving her alone like that. I-" She was cut off when Thane pulled her from the chair and held her. Her eyes widened and her face flushed with heat. He held her close, inhaling her scent. She smelled of spent thermal clips, of metal, and of ash. Her body trembled in his arms and he felt the warm drops streaming down her face fall on his jacket. He held her as she cried, sounds of pain, regret, sorrow and loneliness. He closed his eyes and committed them to memory, gently stroking her hair. She calmed herself down after a while, and pulled away from the drell, wiping her eyes. "I'm… I'm sorry you had to see that."

"Nonsense, siha. It is as you said; I am here for you. Whatever you need. I've-" He stilled himself, swallowing those words again. _'Control yourself.'_ "I care for you. You are my dearest friend." Those words cut through him like a knife. He wanted to say so much more, but he suppressed the words rising in his throat. _'Do not be selfish. She has been through enough. Control yourself.'_

She smiled at him sweetly, lighting up her tear-stained face and sending a sharp twinge through his chest. "Thank you, Thane." The chill in her gut returned. She mentally scolded herself. _'Don't flirt with the man who just told you about his dead wife.'_ She took a deep breath and turned to leave. "Thanks for listening to me ramble like that. We'll talk later, okay?"

Thane watched as the doors closed behind her, then sank into his chair, holding his head with both hands. _'I should have said more. I should have told her… No. Do not be selfish.'_ He sighed heavily. "Control yourself."

Star passed Shepard coming out of the elevator with her head hung low. She noticed the commander looking at her but she didn't care. As the elevator doors closed, she leaned against the wall and sank to the floor. _'I should've said something. I should've at least tried.'_ She tilted her head back and sighed loudly. "It probably wouldn't have worked out, anyway."

* * *

Shepard stared at the elevator as it descended. Star looked… more down than usual. Like someone just killed her pet cat or something. The commander shrugged. She'd try talking to her later. For now, she had someone else she wanted to see. The Battery doors hissed open and Garrus looked over his shoulder.

"Shepard." He said, turning around. "Need me for something?"

"Have you got a minute?"

"Definitely." He paused. "Part of me still thinks we're crazy for even considering… blowing off steam. But I want to try it with you. I want a few moments that are just for us, before we throw ourselves into hell for the good of the galaxy."

Shepard smiled at his words. "I want that too, Garrus."

"Glad to hear it." The turian sounded a bit more relieved. "I'll do some, uh, research, and figure out how to… you know." She raised an eyebrow and grinned. "Okay, that sounded bad." He turned back to his console. Shepard shook her head. His awkwardness was adorable. She turned and headed up to her cabin to get some work done. She'd talk to Star later.


	6. Chapter 6

_**Well folks, here we are. The final chapter of Star of the Normandy. Thank you all so much for sticking out 'till the end. But you all may have noticed the name of this story implies there will be more. The answer is YES! Star of the Normandy will return. Unfortunately, unlike this one that was fully written, vetted and waiting for publishing, the next installment hasn't even been started yet. And it won't be for a while. But rest assured, it's not over yet!**_

 _ **This chapter earns the M rating by expanding the 'fade-to-black' scene. You know the one.**_

 _ **Again, thanks for reading!  
(For those who like Silent Hill, I'll be posting a fic under that genre soon!**_ _ **)**_

 _ **\- Kry~**_

* * *

Chapter Six – Endgame

Shepard set her datapad down and stared into the fish tank across the room. Her latest conversation with Garrus and their mutual agreement to 'blow off steam' was naturally forming some suggestive thoughts in her mind, as well as some worrying ones. They were two different species, after all. What if their bodies weren't compatible? She'd done some research; read a few Fornax magazines, watched a few vids on turian reproductive behavior, the latter scaring her a bit, but Commander Shepard never backed down from a challenge. Commander Shepard also never walked into a potentially dangerous situation blindly. Unless, of course, she had no choice. Sighing, she arose from her desk and headed for the elevator.

The commander entered the Tech Lab, trying her hardest not to look nervous or embarrassed as she walked up to the busy salarian. As she approached him, Mordin acknowledged her presence as he always did.

"Shepard. How can I help?"

"Have you got a minute to talk?"

The salarian looked up from his console. "Actually, wanted to talk. Medical matters." Shepard raised an eyebrow. Was there something wrong with one of the crew? Mordin continued, his words slower than usual. "Aware that mission is dangerous. Different species react differently to stress. Sexual activity normal stress release for humans and turians, still, recommend caution. Warn of chafing."

Oh. It was about Garrus. How did he know about Garrus?

"I intend to be cautious, Doctor. But Garrus is important to me. You're not going to scare me off."

Mordin returned to his console. "Of course. Hormones. Regardless, come see me later. May need analgesic. Chafing."

"Do you have a recommendation as a doctor?"

"Turians based on dextro-amino acids. Human ingestion of tissue could provoke allergic reactions. Anaphylactic shock possible, so don't-" he cleared his throat, "-ingest. Also, forwarding advice booklet to your quarters. Valuable diagrams, positions comfortable for both species, erogenous zone overviews. Can supply oils or ointments to ease discomfort. Gave EDI electronic relationship aid demonstration vids to use as necessary."

Shepard's eyebrows raised. Mordin certainly thought of everything, possibly even too much. "Wait a minute, Mordin, you're just yanking me around, aren't you?"

A shocked yet playful expression appeared on the doctor's face. "Shocking suggestion! Doctor-patient confidentiality a sacred trust! Would never dream of mockery." He turned back to his console, adding, "Enjoy yourself while possible, Shepard. Will be here studying cell reproduction. Much simpler. Less alcohol and mood music required."

The commander left the doctor to his work and returned to her cabin. _'Let's see what you've cooked up, Mordin.'_ She thought as she checked the information he had sent to her private terminal.

Well… it was certainly… _helpful._

* * *

The Tech Lab doors opened again a while after the commander had left, making Mordin wonder how many visitors he was going to have today. He had many tests to run, not just for his own research. The familiar figure propped herself up onto the sick bed closest to his desk and let out a long, heavy sigh. Mordin looked up.

"Something the matter?"

Star shook her head. "No, it's nothing… I just-" she sighed again. "I spoke with Thane a few hours ago."

The salarian cocked his head to the side. "He rejected you?"

"No, no. I didn't tell him. I couldn't tell him. We talked, he told me about his wife, and when I saw how fondly he held her memory, I lost my nerve. I couldn't flirt with a man who'd just told me about his dead wife. Besides, he's a dying man. It wouldn't have worked out."

"Thane's condition a considerable variable, yet, would not rule out the possibility. Would not suggest going into suicide mission with regrets clouding mind. May end up clouding judgement." He said, giving Star a stern look.

"But Mordin, what if he feels the same way? It would be a risk entering a relationship in his condition."

The salarian held up a hand. "In such situations, it is better to use trial-and-error than sit worrying all day about what might happen. As humans say, nothing ventured, nothing gained."

Star sighed. "I guess you're right. Better to shoot my shot and miss." She got up from her perch and was halfway out the lab when Miranda's voice came in over the intercom.

"All squad members, gear up and report to the shuttle bay. You will be briefed once you're there."

Star shot a confused look at Mordin, who shrugged and moved towards the Armory with the human following behind.

Once they'd all congregated at the shuttle bay, Shepard provided the explanation: the Reaper IFF was causing instability in Normandy's systems and needed to be tested before they could hit the Collector base, so Joker suggested they take the shuttle for their next mission and decide who to take once they'd arrived. With that, everyone piled into the Kodiak and departed from the Normandy, leaving Joker and the crew in charge.

* * *

"I'm telling you, EDI, your readings are off. It's radiation bleed. Just white noise." Joker swiped the reports off his interface and adjusted himself in his seat.

"I have detected a signal embedded in the static." EDI's synthetic voice retorted. "We are transmitting the Normandy's location."

Joker's eyebrows raised. "Transmitting? To who?"

His question was answered sooner than he'd expected, as the Collector ship entered the system just above the Normandy. The pilot's eyes widened.

"Oh, shit." As the hostile ship drew nearer to dock, Joker frantically accessed the controls. "We're getting out of here!"

"Propulsion systems are disabled. I'm detecting a virus in the ship's computers." EDI responded as the crew took up arms to defend the ship.

"From the IFF? Damn it, why didn't you scrub it?"

"Primary defense systems are offline. We can save the Normandy, Mr. Moreau, but you must help me." She paused. "Give me the ship."

"What? You're crazy." Joker yelled. "You start singing 'Daisy Bell' and I'm done."

"Unlock my sealed databases, and I can initiate countermeasures. The maintenance shaft in the science lab will allow passage to the AI core." She continued as Joker got out of his chair. "Main corridors are no longer safe. The Collectors have boarded. The emergency floor lighting will guide you, Mr. Moreau."

"Ah, damn it." He muttered in defeat. The pilot began making his way as quickly as he could to the science lab, his Vrolik's syndrome preventing him from running.

"Shit, shit, shit."

Halfway to the lab doors, the elevators opened and a Praetorian began crawling out. One of the crew screamed out, "Oh my god! What is that?" as they opened fire, another yelling to Joker, "We'll hold it off as long as we can!" as the pilot hobbled into the Tech Lab. He heard their screams as the doors shut behind him.

"Shit."

As he approached the duct entrance, another Praetorian appeared before him behind the glass.

"Shit, shit, shit, shit, shit." He muttered, climbing down the shaft ladder and making his way to the Crew Deck. He came out in Life Support, and EDI's voice chimed in.

"Multiple hostiles detected on the crew deck."

One of the crew beckoned to him. "Joker! The deck is crawling with those things! Stay close – I'll protect you!" He charged out, pistol in hand, but was thrown across the room as Joker hobbled past the elevator, watching in horror as a screaming Kelly was dragged into the elevator by a Scion.

"Shit, shit, shit!"

He hurried into the Med Lab as EDI chimed in again. "Main fusion plant offline. Activating emergency H-fuel cells."

"What the shit!" Joker screeched as he entered the AI core and walked up to the console.

"All right, I'm at, uh, you."

EDI's blue holo popped up behind him. "Connect the core to the Normandy's primary control module."

"Great." He grumbled as he followed EDI's instructions. "See, this is where it starts, and when we're all just organic batteries, Guess who'll they'll blame? 'This is all Joker's fault. What a tool he was. I have to spend all day computing pi because he plugged in the Overlord.'"

The lights in the core flashed off and EDI's holo expanded and dissipated. Joker looked around as the lights came back on, as well as EDI's voice.

"Ah. I have access to the defensive systems. Thank you, Mr. Moreau." The holo flashed up again. "Now you must reactivate the primary drive in engineering."

Joker groaned. "Argh! You want me to go crawling through the ducts again."

"I enjoy the sight of humans on their knees."

Joker stared blankly at EDI's words.

"That is a joke." She added.

"Right."

"The shaft behind you connects to the engineering deck. Good luck."

Joker turned and entered the duct. Good thing he'd put on his leg braces. Once he exited the duct in the sub-deck, EDI came in again.

"Hostiles are present in engineering. They are heading towards the cargo bay."

Joker slowly made his way up the first set of stairs, and waited until the passing Collectors had left.

"Engineering is clear of hostiles. Proceed immediately to minimize chances of detection."

Joker hobbled into Engineering and up to Tali's console.

"Activate the drive and I will open the airlocks as we accelerate. All hostiles will be killed."

"What? What about the crew?"

"They are gone, Jeff. The Collectors took them."

"Shit."

The pilot limped up to the drive core console and reactivated it.

"I am sealing the engine room." EDI stated. As the drive core powered up, she added. "I have control." The sudden impact of the ship's speed boost sent Joker flying onto his back as the Normandy powered away from the Collector ship and into FTL. As he came around, EDI's voice came in again.

"Purge is complete. No other life forms on board. Securing airlocks and cargo bay doors."

Joker slowly got up and looked around as he leaned against the drive core console. "Send a message to Shepard's shuttle. Tell her what happened."

"Message away. Are you feeling well, Jeff?"

He held his head and sighed, then begun to make his way back to the bridge. "No. But thanks for asking."

* * *

Later, after Shepard and the crew came back, Joker sat on the comm room table after giving his report to Shepard.

"Everyone? You lost everyone - and damn near lost the ship too?" Miranda said angrily as she entered the room.

"I know, all right? I was here!" Joker retorted.

"It's not his fault, Miranda. None of us caught it." Jacob defended.

"Mr. Taylor is correct. The harmful data in the Collector drive was even more sophisticated than the 'black box' Reaper viruses I was given." EDI added.

Shepard walked up to the distraught pilot. "I heard it was a rough ride. How are you holding up?"

Joker glanced solemnly around the room. "There's a lot of empty chairs in here."

EDI's holo popped up behind him. "We did everything we could, Jeff."

"Yeah, thanks, Mom."

"Is the ship clean?" Shepard asked. "We can't risk this happening again."

"EDI and I purged the systems. The Reaper IFF is online. We can go through the Omega 4 relay whenever you want."

"Don't even get me started about unshackling a damned AI." Miranda seethed.

"What could I do against Collectors, break my arm at them?" Joker retorted. "EDI cleared the ship. She's all right."

As Joker got off the table, EDI added, "I assure you, I am still bound by protocols in my programming. Even if I were not, you are my crewmates."

"EDI has had plenty of opportunity to kill us. We need all the help we can get." Shepard reaffirmed.

"Sounds like we have everything we need to rescue the crew." Jacob piped up behind her.

"We've done everything we can. It's time to take the fight to the Collectors." Miranda added.

"Joker, head back up to the bridge. The rest of you, to your stations." The commander said.

Joker saluted. "Aye, aye, Commander. Just punch up the galaxy map when you're ready."

With that, everyone exited the comm room, leaving Shepard behind. The commander headed up to the bridge.

"Commander." Joker started, turning to face her. "Sorry about the crew and… and you know what, no, I'm not sorry. What the hell are you doing leaving us out here where Collectors can work us over?" the pilot snapped. "Because you know what, I should… I should just go. Next port, just get the hell out of here."

"You don't mean that, Jeff." EDI piped up.

"I… no, but it… it felt good. I'm sorry, Commander. Okay, I'm ready, I'm good. I'm ready to save the day." He resigned.

"I know how dangerous it was. If you need some time, let me know."

"Jeez, don't get like that. I know I got lucky. I don't need you getting all touchy feely."

"Shepard is right to be concerned, Jeff. You may have suffered a number of stress fractures." EDI added again.

"That's what pills are for, EDI." He turned back to Shepard. "She's so my mom."

"I notice you're calling EDI 'her' and 'she' now."

"Huh. No, I hadn't really noticed that. EDI, should I have noticed that?"

"No, Jeff, it is not worth noting." The holo said.

"Well, there you go, Shepard. Looks like we haven't noticed anything."

"I think you're taking the human-machine interface a little far."

"I'm just having a little fun with you, Commander. No need to get all 'Unnatural!' on me." Joker chuckled.

"What Jeff and I are exhibiting is more a platonic symbiosis than hormonally-induced courtship behavior."

Jeff turned back to Shepard. "Okay, yeah, that was a little creepy."

"I need everyone at their best. We get no second chance, so no more losing it, understand?"

"Understood, Commander. EDI and I have it under control."

With that, Shepard left the bridge and towards the galaxy map. After reading the transmission from the Illusive Man, Re: the Collector attack, she booted up the map and selected the Omega 4 relay.

EDI's voice came in over the intercom. "Please confirm destination, Shepard. The Reaper IFF is online, but there is a chance that the Normandy may not survive the Omega 4 relay. Once we are en route, we are committed."

"The Collectors are about to find out what happens when you piss me off."

"You got it, Commander." Joker pitched in. "Plotting a course for the Omega 4 relay. ETA about 2 hours. I'll let you know when we arrive."

* * *

Shepard had returned to her cabin and was taking a shower, washing off the grime of the last mission. She'd been so worried from EDI's message that she just changed into her Cerberus fatigues, and with the impending suicide mission they were flying into head-first, she needed a nice, hot shower to calm her nerves. She changed into a clean set of clothes and walked out of the bathroom, and was surprised by an unexpected yet welcome visitor in her cabin. Garrus was standing near the fish tank, wearing his civvies (and still wearing his visor) and holding a bottle of liquor. Everything about his posture screamed 'nervous.'

"Hey. I brought wine. Best I could afford on a vigilante's salary." Shepard smiled and crossed her arms. His obvious nervousness was adorable.

The turian all but ran to the music control console and turned on a song. The human watched him, amused, as he tried to play it cool.

Garrus sauntered over to the fish tank as she approached him. "If you were a turian, I'd be complimenting your waist or your fringe. So… your, uh, hair looks good. And your waist is… very supportive." He paused, reassessing his choice of words. Shepard almost chuckled. "Hopefully, that's not offensive in human culture. Crap. I knew I should've watched the vids –"

"Whoa! Consider me seduced, smooth talker." She interrupted, saving the poor turian. "Now shut up and stop worrying." She moved to the music console and turned off the music.

"I just… I've seen so many things go wrong, Shepard. My work at C-Sec, what happened with Sidonis…" Garrus hung his head. "I want something to go right. Just once. Just…"

Shepard stroked his injured mandible and looked into his eyes reassuringly. Slowly, she pressed her forehead against his.

 _'No suicide mission, no missing crewmates, right now… it's just you and me, Garrus…'_

Garrus hummed, his sub-vocals thrumming. "Hmm, this is a turian custom. How'd you know?"

Shepard grinned. "You're not the only one who did research, Vakarian."

He chuckled, his good mandible fluttering. "Speaking of research, there's one thing in particular I wanted to try out."

"Oh? And what's that?"

"That whole kissing thing." He replied. "You might've noticed, we don't really have those thick, fleshy lips humans do."

Chuckling a little, Shepard led her partner to the couches and pushed him gently on them, taking the wine bottle and setting it down on the table, then taking up position across his lap. "You don't need to have lips like ours to kiss." She said softly, lifting a hand to his scarred, bandaged mandible, gently trailing her fingers across the curves before meeting his gaze.

"Hmmm." He brought his hand up, hesitating a moment before brushing the back of his gloved talon along her jawline, mimicking her gesture. "So… how does this kissing thing work?"

Grinning, she held onto his collar, tugging him down a little. She pressed her lips to his mouth plates, bringing her other hand around behind his head. He hummed, and she brushed her tongue over the curve of his flat lips, coaxing them apart. Her tongue swept over his, savoring the smooth feel of it before retreating a little, pleased when he took up the motion, following after. She made another pass, meeting his tongue again before pulling back.

She glanced up at him, licking her lips, smiling. "So, what do you think?"

His gaze fixed on her mouth. "I'm not sure, I might need you to show me again." The flange of his voice was heavy and raspy. His nerves were calming, good.

Chuckling, she pressed her lips to his mouth in a quick peck. "Yeah?"

"Definitely. Maybe even a few more times, just to be sure." He nudged her mouth with his. She smiled and kissed him again, his mouth opening easily to hers. Shifting herself slowly, she eased him back into the couch, turning to face him, straddling him and kneeling into the cushions on either side of him. He brought his hands up, one pressing gently against her jaw and neck, one pressed into the small of her back. He felt so… right. Her heart pounded against her ribs, heat flooding her body with each caress of their tongues.

She let out a light, approving groan when his hand settled on her hip, sliding gently down to her thigh. Eager to return the favor, she ran her fingers down his neck, sliding them between the segments of plates and against his skin. It was smooth, but thick, like plated leather. It felt so alien under her fingers, but so very, very _right_. Why did she ever wait so long to kiss him?

Slowly breaking the kiss, she pulled back and put a hand against his chest. "How about you get this shirt off?"

Garrus' sub-vocals trilled softly. "Hmm, and I was just getting the hang of kissing."

Shepard chuckled softly. "I'd like to explore the new species I've discovered while I have him. Now, shirt. Off."

He chuckled. "Yes, Commander." He shifted forward a bit, fumbling with the clothing as he removed it. Soon, it was decorating the floor behind them. He leaned back into the couch as Shepard's fingers traced the lines and ridges of his plating with wonder. She leaned forward, nudging his head up gently with her cheek and planted little kisses along the skin of his neck, as her fingers caressed the hide in between the plates on his chest, reveling in the feel of defined muscles beneath his hide. He kept his hands wandering across her thighs, feeling the contrast of tight muscle with her alien softness.

She spoke softly against the crook of his neck. "It's alright to touch me, Garrus. I won't break."

He hummed, the vibrations of his neck giving her tingles. "Can't be too sure, humans are so soft." She laughed lightly at his remark and pulled away again, this time to remove her own shirt and bra, both of which joined his shirt on the floor. Taking his hands in her own, she guided them along her hips up towards her breasts, stopping just under the mounds. Intrigued, Garrus removed his gloves and copied the movements, savoring the strange yet lovely feeling of her smooth skin under his talons. Shepard's deft fingers went back to exploring as his did, this time making their way up the back of his neck towards his fringe. She found a soft little spot, just under the fringe, and pressed her fingers into it. This elicited a soft gasp from the turian, who flashed her a grin and said, "No fair. You've found one of my weak spots and I haven't found any of yours."

She hummed, smirking at him. "You mean here?" she asked, her voice barely more than a whisper as she gently kneaded the spot again.

"Spirits, yes." He flicked a mandible and added, "Pretty much anywhere my plates don't cover." He smiled at her. "I could use a few pointers too, if you don't mind."

She grinned, taking his hands in hers, she brought them up to press against her breasts, squeezing her hands around his. "Here." She pulled his hands back enough to close his thumb and finger around her nipple, sucking in a ragged breath. "Here." Moving his hands to her rear, she squeezed again. "And here. For starters." _  
_

* * *

Tugging at his waist, she rolled her hips, pulling him in deeper. She moaned, head pushing back into the pillows. She wasn't sure what to expect, bringing a turian to her bed, but Garrus felt so much better than anything she'd anticipated. He kept most of his weight off her, having realized relatively quick that the roughness of his plates was abrasive against her skin. It was her only regret, in this position at least, she couldn't feel his warmth against her chest.

Reaching out, she caressed his mandible and he opened his eyes, meeting her gaze with a smile. He hummed, his sub-vocals purring, hips working their magic as they rocked in and out of her. Then, he worked a hand under her back, lifting her from the mattress as he rolled off of her, dragging her along. She chuckled, pushing up on her knees as he situated himself in a reclined position.

"Come here." His voice was low and throaty as he put his hands around her hips. Straddling him, she lowered herself down, using her hand to guide him back inside her. His mandibles flared, mouth opening in a gasp as a deep hum resonated in his throat. She leaned into him, resting her chest against his as she brought her mouth to his.

 _'Well, what do you know? Those advice booklets did come in handy after all.'_

Tongues meeting, he let out a low growl as she began rocking her hips. His fingers thread through her hair as he cradled the back of her head, deepening the kiss. He'd taken to the concept like a pro, tongue dancing over hers before retreating. Breaking the kiss, he ducked his head and trailed his tongue down her jaw and throat, making her moan and shiver. She tilted her head back, exposing her throat to him, moving her hand to the back of his head, kneading the soft hide just under his crest. He licked her again, bringing a hand up to capture her breast, trapping a nipple between his thumb and finger. She moved a little faster, feeling her insides starting to tighten as she built to an orgasm. He gently nipped at her skin with his sharp teeth and she moaned, urging him on.

He bit down, a little harder than she anticipated, but the sensation felt glorious, throwing her over the edge. She bucked her hips, rhythm becoming uneven as she erupted, a wave of pleasure cascading over her, a strained mix of a moan and a yell caught in her throat. Moving his hand from her head, he gripped her waist, taking over as he lifted her up and down, thrusting into her. He ran his tongue over the bite mark, her hands clutching him, digging into his hide and his grip tightened. He let out a throaty growl, pressing his forehead into the crook of her neck as he buried himself inside her one last time, holding her there as he found his own release.

Panting, she felt her heart pounding against her chest as she brought her mouth back to his, his longer tongue twining around hers. She brought a hand to his face, savoring the feel of his scarred mandible and the feel of her mouth against his until the need for air pushed them apart.

She rested her forehead against his, smiling, contented. He hummed, the soft purring of his sub-vocals sending delightful tingles through Shepard's chest. Smiling, he spoke softly,

"I'm definitely into the kissing thing now."

Shepard laughed.

* * *

The Illusive Man turned to the message console as it lit up with Commander Shepard's hologram. "Shepard. I wish I had more information for you. I don't like you heading through that relay blind, but we don't have much choice."

"I'm not going alone; I've got some of the best working with me. If we stick together, we'll make it."

"I knew we brought you back for a reason. I've never seen a better leader. Despite the danger, it's a great opportunity. The first human to take a ship through… and survive."

"I've got room on the Normandy if you're that eager to see it."

"It's a tempting offer. But it's not my place. I just wanted you to know I appreciate the risk your taking. Regardless of your opinion of Cerberus. Of me. You are… a valuable asset. To all of humanity. Be careful, Shepard."

* * *

"Approaching Omega 4 relay. Everyone stand by."

Shepard had joined Joker on the Normandy's bridge, in full armor, ready for battle. The commander glanced at her pilot.

"Let's make it happen."

Joker grinned as he manned flight controls.

"Reaper IFF activated. Signal acknowledged." EDI chimed in.

Down in Engineering, Jacob spoke to Shepard through her comm. "Commander? The drive core just lit up like a Christmas tree!"

"Drive core electrical charge at critical levels." EDI warned.

"Rerouting!" The pilot worked fervently at his console. The Normandy sped towards the relay, accelerating rapidly as it began the relay jump.

"Brace for deceleration." The AI warned again, prompting Shepard to grip Joker's chair. Just as the ship completed the jump, they were thrown into a mine field of debris.

"Oh, shit!" Joker swerved the ship around and out of the debris, leading to a bumpy ride. Once out of the field, he sat back and sighed. "Too close." Shepard watched out of the ship's windows as they cruised over the debris field towards the Collector base. "These must be all the ships that tried to make it through the Omega 4 relay. Some look… ancient." Jeff commented.

"I have detected an energy signature near the edge of the accretion disk." EDI piped up.

"Has to be the Collector base." Shepard replied, "Take us in for a closer look. Nice and easy."

As they moved in closer to the base, several machines activated and begun to give chase to the Normandy.

"Careful, Jeff. We have company." EDI warned. The Oculi started firing at the ship as Joker swerved it out of the way.

"Taking evasive maneuvers." But the machines kept tight on the Normandy's trail. "Now they're just pissing me off! EDI – take these bastards out!" He yelled, as the ship's guns fired, blasting two of the Oculi, who managed to get a shot at the Normandy. Luckily, Shepard had upgraded the ship's armor with Silaris plating, as a suggestion from Jacob.

"As long as the new plating holds." Miranda commented from just behind the commander.

"They want another round? Come on, girl, let's give it to them." Joker said to himself. Another blast from the machines hit one of the engines, throwing the crew in engineering around. No matter how much fancy flying Joker pulled off, the Oculi wouldn't let up. One of them launched itself into the ship's cargo hold.

"Alert. Hull breach on the engineering deck." EDI stated, bringing up a holo of the ship to show the breach.

"It's in the cargo hold!" Joker said to Shepard.

"I'll take a team and deal with the intruder. You get the rest of them off our trail." She said, starting towards the elevator.

"Aye, aye, Commander."

"Garrus, Grunt, meet me at the cargo hold. We've got a stowaway to evict." She called through her comms. Grunt's laughter echoed as a reply.

Down in the shuttle bay, the fight heated up quickly. Shepard and her squad bolted out the elevator and took over as the Oculus fired at them.

"We have to use heavy weapons on this thing!" Grunt called.

 _'My thoughts exactly.'_ Shepard pulled out her Collector Particle Beam and blasted the Oculus' armor as it moved around the bay area. Just as it retreated out of the hull, Joker called over the intercom.

"We're sitting ducks out here. I have to try to lose them in the debris field!"

The ship re-entered the field, the fast-swerving Oculi already being destroyed hitting the debris.

"Our kinetic barriers are not designed to survive impact with debris that size, Jeff." EDI stated.

"Then I guess it's a good thing we upgraded. We're going in." Shepard had also invested in Cyclonic Barrier tech, supplied by Tali. The ship slipped around through the field, making near-misses and taking small hits and throwing the commander's team in the shuttle bay around. Normandy glided through the debris as the Oculi became fewer in numbers, scraping against a rather large piece. "Come on, find some room." Joker gritted his teeth as EDI gave him another warning.

"Kinetic barriers at 40 percent."

"Reroute non-critical power! This is gonna hurt!"

The ship pressed through the mine field, finishing off the last of the pursuing machines, the drive core lighting up and catching Legion's attention. Eventually, the ship found enough room to maneuver.

"Damage report!"

"Kinetic barriers steady at 30 percent. No significant damage." EDI responded.

"Take the helm, EDI. Keep it slow. See if we can avoid any more attention." Unfortunately, the Oculus that Shepard had been dealing with returned, firing at the cargo bay.

"I have detected an enemy heading for the cargo hold."

"That thing again. This one's up to Shepard."

Back in the shuttle bay, the Oculus re-entered the cargo bay and began firing at the squad, who returned fire. After using up all the bullets in her Vindicator and dodging, ducking and rolling away from the Oculus' lasers, the commander finished it off with her heavy weapon and the team took cover as it exploded.

"Heh. Dead for sure this time." Grunt commented.

"Better get back up here, Commander." Joker called to her through the intercom.

"We're about to clear the debris field." Miranda added.

* * *

"There it is – the Collector base." Miranda said as Shepard ran up to the bridge.

"See if you can find a place to land without drawing attention." The commander said to her pilot.

"Too late. Looks like they're sending out an old friend to greet us." Joker replied. Outside, a familiar ship emerged from the base and begun towards the Normandy, firing its cannon. The ship swerved out of the way of the enemy's blasts.

"Time to show our new teeth. Fire the main gun." Shepard commanded. Last but not least, she had upgraded the ship's guns to turian-made Thannix Cannons. _'Time to see if all that time Garrus spent calibrating will finally pay off.'_

The cannons blasted, directly hitting the Collector ship. "How do you like that, you sons-of-bitches!?" Joker yelled with a shit-eating grin.

"Get in close and finish them off." Shepard wasn't celebrating just yet.

"Everybody hold on – gonna be a wild ride!" The Normandy swerved, flying fancy around the Collector ship's beams and zooming in close. Joker slammed his fist onto the console. "Give 'em hell, girl!" The Thannix cannon cut through the enemy ship like butter, the Normandy zooming past victoriously.

"Look out!" Miranda called as the exploding ship's debris blasted into range. The impact of the explosions threw the ship off course, throwing the crew about as well and Joker out of his chair.

"Mass effect field generators are offline! EDI – give me something!" he cried out, climbing back into the chair.

"Generators unresponsive. All hands brace for impact." Came the AI's reply.

The ship collided with the station, hitting the left engines and crashing onto the base's exterior, throwing the crew about again and sliding to a halt.

Shepard picked herself up off the floor. "Joker? You okay?"

"Ungh… think I broke a rib. All of them." The pilot groaned.

"Multiple core systems overloaded during the crash. Restoring operations will take time." EDI chimed in.

Miranda sighed. "We all knew this was likely a one-way trip."

"Our primary objective is to destroy the station and stop the Collectors. At any cost." The commander stated.

Joker glanced at her. "Well then, we're off to a good start. What's next?"

"How long until the Collectors find this landing zone?"

"I do not detect an internal security network. It is possible the Collectors did not expect anyone to reach the base." EDI replied.

"If we're lucky, their external sensors were hit like we were. They might not know we're alive." Jeff added.

* * *

The crew congregated in the briefing room, checking their gear and their weapons. This was it, the final mission. Shepard walked into the room and stood at the head of the table.

"This isn't how we planned this mission, but this is where we're at. We can't worry about whether the Normandy can get us home. We came to stop the Collectors, and that means coming up with a plan to take out this station. EDI, bring up your scans."

A hologram of the scans of the Collector base appeared over the table as EDI spoke.

"You should be able to overload their critical systems if you get to the main control center here." She said, highlighting the command center.

"That means going through the heart of the station. Right past this massive energy signature." Jacob piped up, highlighting the diagram with his Omni-tool.

"That's the central chamber. If our crew or any of the colonists are still alive, the Collectors are probably holding them in there." The commander responded.

"Looks like there are two main routes. Might be a good idea to split up to keep the Collectors off balance, then regroup in the central chamber." Jacob marked the two paths via Omni-tool.

"No good." Miranda objected. "Both routes are blocked. See these doors? The only way past is to get someone to open them from the other side."

"It's not a fortress; there's got to be something. Here, maybe we can send someone in through this ventilation shaft." Shepard said, highlighting the scans.

"Practically a suicide mission. I volunteer." Jacob said, crossing his arms.

 _'Well, aren't you eager?'_

"I appreciate the thought, Jacob, but you couldn't shut down the security systems in time. We need to send a tech expert." Miranda objected.

"It's your call, Commander. Who do we send into the shaft?"

 _'What better tech expert is there than a machine?'_ "Legion – you can hack through anything. I'm sending you into the shaft." Shepard turned to the geth.

It tuned its rifle. "Acknowledged."

"The rest of us will break into two teams and fight down each passage. That should draw the Collectors' attention away from what you're doing."

"I'll lead the second fire team, Shepard. We'll meet up with you on the other side of the doors." Miranda stated.

"Not so fast, Cheerleader. Nobody wants to take orders from you." Jack retorted.

"This isn't a popularity contest! Lives are at stake. Shepard – you need someone who can command loyalty through experience."

 _'And someone I can trust. Someone who's not Cerberus.'_ "Garrus – you're in charge of the second team." The turian nodded in acknowledgement.

"Well, at least he knows what he's doing." Miranda muttered.

"Once we're in, they're going to throw everything they have at us. If we're weak, if we're slow, if we hesitate, we'll die. The Collectors attacked our ship. They took our crew, our friends. They think we're helpless. They're wrong! They started a war, but we're not here to finish it. We're here to make them regret – to show them and everyone else what happens when you go too far. No more running, and no more waiting. Let's hit them where they live."

* * *

The crew stepped out of the Normandy and entered the base, the fire team led by Garrus headed in one way, Infiltration Specialist Legion moving towards the entrance of the ducts, and Shepard's team, Miranda and Jacob, heading in the main passage. Shepard took a minute to modify her Vindicator and Widow to Inferno Ammo, then pressed ahead into the Collector base.

"We are in position." Legion's voice came in over the comms. "Exterior temperature slightly elevated. No obstructions detected."

"Second team – are you in position?"

"In position." Garrus called back. "Meet you on the other side of those doors."

Shepard and her team advanced down the halls of the station, and found themselves in an opening. They found Collectors waiting for them as well, and ducked into cover as shots rang out. The commander picked off a few of them with her Widow as reinforcements flew onto the battlefield. With the last drone burning into a pile of ash, the team moved ahead, and Garrus' voice came in over the comms.

"Garrus here. We're taking heavy fire, but we're moving forward."

As they progressed, Shepard spotted a large tube ahead, a part of the duct system Legion was moving through. She spotted said geth as it called to her via comm.

"Pathing failure. There is an obstruction in the tunnel."

"There, over by the ventilation shaft." Miranda called, gesturing to the console near the duct. "That valve should open the gate."

Shepard ran up to the valve and opened it, allowing Legion passage through the tunnel.

"Obstruction removed. Proceeding." It said as they continued along their ways. As Shepard turned the corner, a group of drones opened fire on them. They returned fire as they scurried into cover, Shepard firing a Concussive Shot at one of them and spying another valve under the tunnels.

"The path is blocked again. You must locate another valve." The geth called to her as she finished off the last few drones. She opened the valve and continued.

"Another obstacle impeding progress. I am unable to continue without your assistance, Shepard." Legion called again just ahead of the squad.

 _'Damn, how many valves are there?'_ The commander thought as she opened the next one.

"Garrus here. We're making good progress. Meet you at the rendezvous." The turian reported in. _'Good, everyone's still alive.'_

"Path is clear. Moving on." Legion said as the squad pressed ahead. After coming across yet another valve, Garrus reported in again.

"We're in position. Just waiting for the doors to open."

 _'They made it before us. I just hope they can hold out.'_ Shepard thought as they dealt with some more Collectors. In the midst of the fight, Legion requested help again, but the valve was too far for Shepard to reach without being shot at. The squad focused on clearing a path as quickly as possible, Shepard's visor interface warning her of Legion's vital signs.

"Temperature rising to dangerous levels." It called again. The commander blasted the last drone and rushed to open the valve. No sooner had Shepard opened the valve was she being shot at again, Harbinger making things difficult by possessing drones. Legion called again ahead of them as they finished off Harbinger and hurried to assist. They were ambushed by a few drones right around the corner and Shepard and Jacob pelted them with bullets as Miranda slammed one of the drones into the wall with her biotics. Shepard ducked into cover as another Collector drone fired a particle beam at her from behind another valve and the geth infiltrator called for help again. The commander rolled her eyes and shot the drone's head off with her Widow.

 _'This is getting beyond now. How many valves are there?!'_ She opened the valve as more drones dropped in.

"Proceeding. Anticipate we are nearing the end." Legion said, unknowingly relieving Shepard as she blasted the Collectors with high velocity sniper rifle rounds. It called for help shortly after again, but again, there were too many enemies for Shepard to assist it at once. They mowed through the drones, Harbinger's constant appearances fueling the commander's fire. They finished off the group and opened the last valve, poor Legion mere seconds from total circuit failure due to Harbinger's persistence as they ran past towards the doors.

"Come in!" the commander called to her squad. On the other side, Legion opened the other doors, allowing the fire team to get into safety.

"Look out. Seeker swarms!" Garrus shouted as the squad filed in, returning fire as Legion tried to close the doors behind them.

"We're in position." Shepard called to Garrus. "We need this door open now!"

The turian grabbed Legion's shoulder. "Go, we'll cover you!" The geth rushed to the other doors.

"The door has malfunctioned. Path blocked." It called as it tinkered with the interface. Shepard ducked a shot and the doors opened shortly after. The squad rushed inside. "Complete."

"Here they come!" Shepard yelled as the geth tried to get the doors shut. "Fall back!"

"Suppressing fire! Don't let anyone through that door!" Garrus ordered as the team rained bullets on the Collectors rushing towards the door.

"Nice work, Legion." Shepard said as the doors finally closed and she could catch her breath. "I knew I could count on you."

"Shepard! You need to see this!" Miranda called from the next room behind them. The team walked into the room and looked around in awe. The central chamber; vast, walls lined with pods the Collectors used to abduct humans. Shepard saw what Miranda meant; a pod close to the door holding a woman inside. "Looks like one of the missing colonists." The XO commented.

Shepard walked up to the pod and examined it, Jacob calling from across the room, "There's more. Over here." The pods Jacob had found were holding the Normandy's crew. The pod before the commander began filling with gas, causing the colonist inside to start panicking as her skin began to melt.

"My God! She's still alive!" Shepard exclaimed, and began searching the pod for a way to open it as the woman pounded on the glass, screaming. To Shepard's horror, the poor colonist began melting away into a puddle before her very eyes! The other pods were starting to fill with gas too. "Get them out of there!" she ordered the others. "Hurry!" The squad began breaking the pods open with their guns, taking them down and forcing them open before they could melt away. Miranda forced open the last pod, Shepard catching the victim inside.

"Doctor Chakwas? Are you okay?" She said, laying the doctor on the ground.

As the others came around, Chakwas looked up. "Shepard? You… you came for us." She said with relief.

"No one gets left behind." The commander responded as she helped the doctor up.

"Thank God you got here in time." Kelly said, limping up to her. "A few more seconds and… I don't even want to think about it."

"The colonists were…processed." Chakwas continued. "Those swarms of little robots, they—melted their bodies into gray liquid and pumped it through these tubes." The doctor gestured to the large tubes above them.

"Whatever the Collectors are doing, it ends here!" Shepard said firmly.

"We've done well so far. Let's hope we can finish the job." Miranda added.

"Joker? Can you get a fix on our position?" The commander said into her comm.

"Roger that, Commander. All those tubes lead into the main control room right above you." The pilot responded. "The route is blocked by a security door, but there's another chamber that runs parallel to the one you're in."

"I cannot recommend that. Thermal emissions suggest the chamber is overrun with seeker swarms. Mordin's countermeasure cannot protect you against so many at once." EDI interjected.

"Conventional weapons are pretty much useless. They'll tear us apart." Shepard added.

Samara spoke up. "Maybe not. I might be able to generate a biotic field to keep them at bay. I won't be able to protect all of us, but I could get a small team through if they stay close."

Miranda added quickly, "I could do it too. In theory, any biotic could handle it. Shepard, who do you want to maintain the field?"

 _'Theoretically, any biotic could get us through, but I need someone who can deliver practically. Someone who has plenty of biotics to spare. And who better than a natural biotic?'_ "Samara and I will take a small team through the seeker swarms. The rest of you provide a diversion by going through the main passage. We'll open the security doors from the other side and meet you there."

"Who should lead the diversion team?"

 _'Who else?'_ Shepard motioned to Garrus.

He nodded. "I'll keep the defenders busy. You slip around the back."

"What about me and the rest of the crew, Shepard? We're in no shape to fight." Chakwas added.

"Commander? We have enough systems back online to do a pickup, but we'd need to land back from your position." Joker's voice came in.

"We can't afford to go back, Shepard. Not now." Miranda stated.

"You'll never make it without help. I'll send someone with you." Shepard said to the doctor.

 _'Someone whose absence won't affect our chances by a wide margin, but who can definitely still hold their own.'_ The commander turned to the salarian scientist.

Mordin nodded and opened the comm channel through his Omni-tool. "Joker, need location of landing zone. Will meet you there."

"We've all got our assignments. Let's move out!"

* * *

In a few moments, Shepard and her squadmates, Thane, Grunt and Biotic Specialist Samara had entered the corridor infested with seeker swarms. The little robots bounced on the biotic barrier like raindrops on a puddle, leaving a rippling effect.

"Moving out. Try to stay close, Commander." Samara said, walking ahead. The team moved with her, staying within the field's boundaries.

"Garrus here. Team is in position and-and waiting for your orders, Shepard." The turian's voice came in heavily distorted over the comm.

"Damn. The swarms are interfering with radio contact." Shepard stated. As Samara stopped, awaiting orders, the squad quickly checked over their gear. "You ready for this?"

The asari nodded. "Let's go, Commander." As they moved ahead, a few Collector drones flew past over the corridor. "Incoming!" The squad moved into cover as Garrus was heard over the comms again.

"On my way."

"I can't fight back from this position. Tell me when you're ready to move." Samara called from her cover position as Shepard's team returned fire. The commander focused her Widow on Harbinger as Thane threw a Warp field at him. They finished off the last drone, which had been taken over just as they'd dealt with the first Harbinger, and Shepard ordered Samara to move out. "Ready to move, Commander."

Continuing ahead, Garrus was heard again. "Hostile engaged."

"Hostiles! Dead ahead!" Samara said, as Husks and an Abomination crawled up from below the platforms before them. Shepard and Thane sniped the creatures as Collector Drones flew overhead. They dipped into cover and exchanged fire with the hostiles, firing concussive rounds and warp fields at Harbinger.

 _'Starting to get real annoying now…'_

With the last drone down for the count, Shepard picked up some thermal clips and the team moved on.

"Nice shooting." Garrus came in again.

As they moved up, Samara noticed enemies coming around the corner. "Could be a real fire fight. I'll hold this position until you're ready to move out." She said, running into cover. Shepard noticed the hostiles ahead; Husks, Abominations and a Scion.

 _'Great.'_

The squad opened fire, trying to stop the husks from getting too close, but the cryo blasts from the Scion weren't making it easy. Grunt and Shepard's heavy concussive rounds, however, provided decent crowd control. The Scion got closer to them than Shepard had liked, but they managed to take it out quickly.

"All clear! Let me know when you're ready to move up, Commander." The justicar said after the Scion fell. Shepard handed out Medi-Gel to her squadmates and when they were ready, signaled Samara to move ahead. The commander could see that the prolonged use of her biotics was beginning to take a toll on her.

 _'Hang in there, Samara. We'll get through this. Just a little longer.'_

Ahead, more husks began crawling up at the team. The three of them flanked the creatures before they could attack to give the specialist a clear path.

Garrus' voice came in again. "Perfect."

"I will hold on… as long… as I can." Samara groaned, pushing forward with visible strain. Shepard began to worry, but worry was tossed aside as she looked ahead. The security doors where within sight. "I can see the entrance." The justicar said, and started to rush with renewed determination. "Need to… get there… soon." The team began to run with the specialist, blasting the husks that crawled up after them.

"Hold on. We're almost there." Shepard said as she and the others providing covering fire as Samara made a break for the door.

"We must move quickly, Shepard." Thane called, shooting down a Collector.

"All right, let's move!" The commander ordered. The squadmates ran for the door as Shepard covered them, blasting a Collector that got too close. "They're pushing. Keep it up!"

"Hurry, Shepard." the asari called as Grunt got the doors open. With the squad close by, Samara summoned the rest of her strength to push the hostiles and the swarm away from the doors. With the coast clear, they fell back to safety as the doors closed. Inside, Shepard heard Garrus' voice through the interference.

"…do you copy? Come on, Shepard? Where are you?"

"I copy. What's your position?"

"We're pinned down at the door. Taking heavy fire." Shepard and Thane ran over to the other security doors.

"We're coming; just hold on!" She said, taking up defensive positions as Samara ran to the door console. "Get this door open!"

The doors flew open and the fire team retreated in, Shepard and her squad adding to their suppressing fire. "Come on!" When everyone made it inside, she turned to Samara. "Seal the door!"

The doors slid shut and Garrus stumbled back, holding his side. Shepard went up to him and he nodded, showing her he was alright. She tapped her comm. "Joker? Are you at the rendezvous point?"

"I'm here, Commander. Chakwas and the rest of the crew just showed up."

"Mordin's group just arrived, Shepard. No casualties." EDI added.

"Excellent." Miranda said. "Now let's make it count. EDI, what's our next step?"

"There should be some nearby platforms that will take you to the main control console. From there you can overload the system and destroy the base."

"Commander? You got a problem. Hostiles massing just outside the door. Won't be long until they bust through." Joker stated.

Shepard climbed atop a raised platform and addressed her squad. "A rearguard could defend this position and keep the Collectors from overwhelming us."

"Pick a team to go with you, Shepard. Everyone else can bunker down here and cover your back." The XO suggested. Shepard thought for a second.

 _'The rearguard needs to have stronger, heavily armored people in it, so Grunt and Garrus are out of the question. The less defensible teammates could turn into a liability in this situation. A chain is as strong as its weakest link, as they say. Which means…'_

"Tali, Jack, you two are coming with me."

Said teammates climbed up onto the platform with Shepard.

"I'm ready, Commander." Said the quarian.

"Me, too." Jack added.

"Anything to say before we do this?" Miranda asked.

Shepard started; "The Collectors blindside their targets. Hit and run. As powerful as they are, they're cowards. They've never had to stand and fight the best of us. That's you. I don't know if they can feel fear, but we're damned sure going to give them the opportunity. Hit them hard. One way or another, it ends here!"

"We'll do our best. Good luck, Shepard." The platform that Shepard and her squad were standing on began to move away as the rest of the team took up their positions to guard the door.

 _'And so it begins… the long walk… the beginning of the end.'_

* * *

The squad drew their guns as another platform made its way towards theirs. On it, a few Collectors.

"Enemies incoming!" called Tali, opening fire. As soon as that platform was empty, another rode up. Shepard changed position and sniped the Collectors as her shotgun-wielding teammates moved in close. Yet another Collector-infested platform rode up, this one bearing Harbinger. Shepard gritted her teeth and fired off a Concussive Shot, weakening his barriers. She spied Tali's combat drone, Chatikka vas Paus, serving as an ample distraction by drawing the Collectors' fire away from the squad. With them focused on the pink drone, Jack sent a Shockwave their way, sending two of the drones flying off the edge of the platform. Another platform came up, with time carrying two Scions and some Abominations. Shepard focused on the Scions with her Widow, as Tali ran away from the blasts of the Abominations. The Scions went down quickly, and Shepard passed around the Medi-Gel and picked up thermal clips before taking the last platform to the main control console. Something told her the fight wasn't done yet.

"This is it. All the tubes lead to this spot. EDI. What can you tell us? What are they doing?"

"The tubes are feeding into some kind of super-structure. It is emitting both organic and non-organic energy signatures. Given these readings, it must be massive. Shepard. If my calculations are correct, the super-structure… is a Reaper."

Shepard and her crew stared in disbelief at the structure EDI mentioned as it came into view.

"Not just any Reaper – a human Reaper."

"Precisely."

The Reaper was massive, and looked absolutely terrifying. A macabre mix of organic and synthetic, looking like a mangled corpse that had been torn in half at the torso, just below the ribcage. She could make out a skull, teeth, mechanical eyes and hands; it resembled a decaying skeleton being held up by puppet strings.

The platform connected to three others just before the giant monstrosity and Shepard could see the four large tubes holding it up, preparing to inject some sort of fluid into it.

"It appears the Collectors have processed tens of thousands of humans. Significantly more will be required to complete the Reaper." EDI continued.

"It's too big for our guns. EDI, find me a way to blow this thing to hell."

"The large tubes injecting the fluid are a weak structural link. Destroying them should cause the supports to collapse, and the Reaper to fall." Shepard watched as EDI spoke, the tubes injected the fluids into the Proto-Reaper.

"Give us a minute, EDI." The commander said, drawing her gun. "We've got to take care of some old friends first."

The Collectors' platform came in, its passengers firing at the squad even before it landed. Shepard's group returned fire, the commander focusing on Harbinger.

 _'Damn, these guys don't know when to quit!'_

As soon as the final drone fell, the tubes opened up again. "Shoot the damn tubes!" Jack yelled, charming as ever.

Shepard had an idea. She aimed her Widow at one of the tubes and as she pulled the trigger, she gave herself an Adrenaline Rush, giving her time to reload the gun and blow out another tube before the others closed up. She smirked. _'Well, that just cut my wait time in half.'_

Another platform approached them, another fire fight. This one, a bit trickier, because Harbinger wouldn't stop showing up every other drone. Shepard was almost furious by the time they'd finished him off, and repeated her 'Two-for-One Special' strategy. The Human-Reaper's supports broke away, and the squad moved to the edge of the platform to watch as the machine plummeted into the abyss below.

 _'Finally. Now let's finish the job and blow this place to high hell.'_

Shepard opened her comms. "Shepard to ground team. Status report."

The reply came quickly. "It's Thane. We are holding, but they keep coming. A quick exit is preferable." The drell screeched as he fired over his cover.

"Head to the Normandy. Joker – prep the engines. I'm about to overload this place and blow it sky high."

"Roger that, Commander." As Shepard interacted with the command console, Joker's voice came in over the comms. "Uh, Commander? I've got an incoming signal from the Illusive Man. EDI's patching it through."

Tali connected her Omni-tool with the Normandy, and the transmission came, along with a holo of the Illusive Man.

"Shepard. You've done the impossible."

"I'm not finished here yet. This base is ten minutes from extinction."

"Wait. I have a better option." Shepard glanced at the holo. "I'm looking at the schematics EDI uploaded. A timed radiation pulse would kill the remaining Collectors, but leave the machinery and technology intact. This is our chance, Shepard. They were building a Reaper. That knowledge – that framework – could save us."

The commander stood to face the holo. "They liquefied people. Turned them into something horrible. We have to destroy the base."

"Don't be short-sighted. Our best chance against the Reapers is to turn their own resources against them. They were working directly with the Collectors. Who knows what information is buried there? This base is a gift. We can't just destroy it."

"You're completely ruthless. The next thing I know, you'll be wanting to grow your own Reaper."

"My goal is to save humanity from the Reapers. At any cost. I've never hidden that from you. Imagine how many lives could be saved if we keep this base intact and use its knowledge to thwart the Reapers. Imagine the lives that will be lost if we don't."

"No matter what kind of technology we might find, it's not worth it."

"Shepard. You died fighting for what you believed. I brought you back so you could keep fighting. Some would say what we did to you was going too far. But look what you've accomplished. I didn't discard you because I knew your value. Don't be so quick to discard this facility. Think of the potential."

"We'll fight and win without it." Shepard turned back to the console. "I won't let fear compromise who I am."

"Shepard, think about what's at stake. About everything Cerberus has done for you. You-" his rant was cut off by Tali turning her Omni-tool off, Jack handing Shepard the explosive. The commander planted the bomb and set the timer.

"Let's move. We've got ten minutes before the reactor overloads and blows this whole station apart." She informed them, closing the console. Just then, a mechanical noise was heard, and the platform began to shake. Up from the depths, two mangled mechanical arms appeared, pulling up the Proto-Reaper along for the ride.

 _'Oh you've gotta be kidding me.'_

Shepard ran for cover as she examined the Reaper for a weak spot. She noticed that its big glowing eyes seemed rather unshielded, so she pulled up her Particle Beam and aimed for the optics, burning through the armor. The Reaper didn't make it easy, moving its head about and making it hard for Shepard to aim as it prepared to fire at them. Shepard took the opportunity while it was charging its beam to blast its eyes, then ducked as the beam tore across the platforms. She was low on ammo and Medi-Gel, so every shot counted and she couldn't afford to waste a shot. The Reaper would occasionally dip its head under the platforms, allowing Collector drones from god-knows-where to attack the crew. Shepard cursed internally and externally as she fired at the Reaper while ducking bullets. Luckily, the blasts from the Reaper didn't do the Collectors much good either, so Shepard waited until the blast took out some of the Collectors then she picked off the rest. The Reaper came up again, but this time, destroying the left-most platform with its spine. Shepard took the moment the Reaper held still and, with the help of an Adrenaline Rush, was able to do good damage on it.

Eventually, the heavy weapon ran out of ammo and Shepard had to resort to guns. A well-timed shot from the Widow put the damned thing down for good. Unfortunately, it decided to bring everyone else down with it. In the most dramatic death the commander had ever seen, the collapsing Human-Reaper larvae hit the platforms, knocking the squad on their asses and sending Tali sliding towards the edge as the machine fell. Shepard stumbled to her feet and leapt after the quarian, who was trying desperately to grab the Commander's outstretched arm as they both tumbled towards the sheer drop. Shepard managed to grab hold of Tali just before she followed the Reaper, and she pulled her up as the machine went boom. The impact of the explosion shook the platforms off balance again, sending Shepard and Tali rolling away. The commander looked up just in time to see Jack regaining her balance and in the distance, another platform flying directly into theirs.

Everything went black.

* * *

When Shepard regained consciousness, she was pinned under a heavy piece of metal, part of one of the platforms. She rose to her feet, lifting the offending thing off her back and looked around, spotting her squadmates across from her, also unconscious. She rolled Jack over, who opened her eyes and allowed Shepard to help her up, and then ran over to poor Tali, who was pinned under a piece of platform similar to the one the commander was under. She threw the metal off and as she helped the quarian to her feet, Joker's worried voice came through her earpiece.

"Do you copy? Commander? Come on, Shepard, don't leave me hanging. Do you copy?"

"I'm here, Joker. Did the ground team make it?"

"All survivors on board. We're just waiting on you." The pilot sounded relieved.

Shepard noticed the forming clouds of seeker swarms before her and the squad began their sprint to the Normandy, Shepard firing her pistol into the bugs as Harbinger's voice echoed through the walls.

"Human, you've changed nothing. Your species has the attention of those infinitely your greater. That which you know as Reapers are your salvation through destruction." The squad continued their sprint, encountering Collectors and being pursued as well as shot at. The base began collapsing and exploding around them as they approached an exit; the Normandy ascending and turning to align the portside airlock with the edge. Joker appeared in the airlock, firing his assault rifle at the Collectors following Shepard's squad as Tali and Jack leapt in beside him. Just then, falling debris knocked away the platforms connecting the ship to the ground and Shepard saw what she had to do. She gritted her teeth and pushed herself harder, taking a running leap towards the airlock. The world seemed to slow down mid-air, the commander barely catching the edge of the airlock as Tali pulled her up out of the gunfire. Joker fired off a few more shots as the door shut and as the ship pulled away, Joker tossed his gun aside and staggered into the cockpit with Shepard following behind as EDI started a countdown.

"Detonation in ten, nine, eight-"

"Yeah, got the gist of it, EDI! Hold on!" Joker interrupted as he jumped into his chair and piloted the ship out of the base. The ship shot out of the station, zooming across it and towards the relay as the construct exploded behind it. Normandy sped away from the impact of the blast, carrying crew and captain all aboard, accounted for and safe, and hit FTL towards the mass relay.

Mission Accomplished.

* * *

Shepard walked into the Briefing Room, almost in ruins from the attack and impact on the ship earlier on, ducking loose wires and shifting debris as she approached the message terminal.

In the Illusive Man's room, the terminal lit up with the glitching hologram of Commander Shepard. He ashed his cigarette.

"Shepard. You're making a habit of costing me more than time and money."

"I'm sorry, I'm having trouble hearing you. I'm getting a lot of bullshit on this line."

"Don't try my patience." He said grimly. "The technology from that base could have secured human dominance in the galaxy. Against the Reapers and beyond."

"Human dominance, or just Cerberus?"

The Cerberus leader rose from his seat and walked towards the terminal. "Strength for Cerberus is strength for every human. Cerberus is humanity. I should have known you'd choke on the hard decisions. Too idealistic from the start."

"I know what you are, and the price of dealing with you. We do things my way from now on. Harbinger is coming. And he won't be alone. I'm going to make sure we're ready when they get here. You can fall in line or step aside, but don't get in my way."

The Illusive Man matched her glare, with threat in his tone. "You sure that's what you want? You're taking a hell of a risk, Shepard."

The commander looked away. "Joker. Lose this channel." She turned from the message terminal and walked smugly out of the room, leaving the Illusive Man boiling in his defeat.

* * *

The Normandy coasted along, its crew aboard scurrying about repairing the damages to the ship. Shepard walked out of the elevator, glancing to her crew, her teammates, who'd helped her through this mission; Legion, Jack, Grunt, Garrus, etc. They'd all made it out safely, no casualties. Joker, who was nearby, walked up to the Commander and handed her a datapad with information on Harbinger. She knew the Reapers were coming. She'd do everything in her power to stop them, and she'd have a strong, loyal team behind her. As she stared off into deep space, Joker spoke into her earpiece.

"Commander? You have an encrypted transmission at your private terminal. It's from Alliance HQ."

 _Speaking of Reapers…_

* * *

 **TO BE CONTINUED…**


End file.
